Rubio: Ukraine Peace Talks 'Very Productive,' but More Work Needed

A four-hour meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Florida on Sunday was "very productive," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that work still remains toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

"There's more work to be done," Rubio told reporters Sunday afternoon. "This is delicate, it’s complicated, there are a lot of moving parts."

President Donald Trump's peace envoy Steve Witkoff is going to talk about the latest progress in talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week.

"Obviously there's another party involved here that'll have to be a part of the equation – and that'll continue later this week when Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow, although we've also been in touch in varying degrees with the Russian side," Rubio continued in brief remarks.

"We have a pretty good understanding of their views as well.

"So much work remains, but today was again a very productive and useful session where I think additional progress was made."

The peacemaking is not just about the long-hoped ceasefire but long-term business dealmaking, Rubio added, saying the U.S. delegation is "realistic but optimistic."

"It's more than just to end the war," Rubio said. "We don't just want to end the war; we also want to help Ukraine be safe forever so never again will they face another invasion, and equally important, we want them to enter an age of true prosperity.

"We want the Ukrainian people to emerge from this war not just to rebuild their country, but to build it back in a way that'll be stronger and more prosperous than it's ever been.

"And so this is comprehensive what we're working on here today. It's not just about the terms that ends fighting; it's about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity."

Rubio, Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, represented the American side in the talks, held at a sensitive time as Ukraine continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022 while dealing with a domestic corruption scandal.

Diplomats have focused on revisions to a proposed U.S.-authored plan that was developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow.

That plan has been criticized as being too weighted toward Russian demands.

As the meeting began Sunday, Rubio focused on reassuring Ukraine.

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's security council, responded to Rubio by expressing his country's appreciation for U.S. efforts, a message geared toward Trump, who has at times claimed that Ukraine has not been sufficiently grateful for U.S. assistance during the war.

"Once again, we are grateful to American people, American leadership, and the great team with the State Secretary, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner for their tremendous work with us," Umerov said in a brief response to close out the media scrum.

"Our objective is a prosperous, strong Ukraine. We were discussing about the future of Ukraine.

"We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine, for Ukrainian people, and U.S. was super supportive.

"We already had a successful meeting in Geneva, and today we continued this success. So at the moment this meeting was productive and successful."

Umerov has been involved in ongoing talks, but until now, Ukraine's head negotiator had been Andriy Yermak, the powerful chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy announced the Friday resignation of Yermak, after his home was searched by anti-corruption investigators.

Zelenskyy's government has been roiled by fallout from a scandal over $100 million embezzled from the energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors, causing newfound domestic pressures for Zelenskyy.

It was only a week ago that Rubio had met with Yermak in Geneva, with each side saying the talks had been positive in putting together a revised peace plan.

Among the other members of the Ukrainian delegation were Andriy Hnatov, the head of Ukraine's armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz.

The plan, which Trump has since played down as a "concept" or a "map" to be "fine-tuned," would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine's military, blocked the country from joining NATO and required Ukraine to hold elections in 100 days.

Negotiators have indicated the framework has changed, but it is not clear how its provisions have been altered.

It had initially envisioned Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia — a sticking point for Kyiv.

Trump said Tuesday that he would send Witkoff and perhaps Kushner to Moscow this week to meet with Putin about the plan. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments published Sunday on Russian state television, said Putin would see Witkoff before Thursday, when Putin departs for India.

Both Witkoff and Kushner, like Trump, hail from the world of real estate that values dealmaking over the conventions of diplomacy. The pair also were behind a 20-point proposal that led to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Zelenskyy wrote on X that the Ukrainian delegation would "swiftly and substantively work out the steps needed to end the war."

In his nightly address Saturday, Zelenskyy said the American side was "demonstrating a constructive approach."

"In the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end," he said.

Russian drone and missile attacks Saturday in and around Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killed at least three people and wounded dozens more, officials said.

Fresh attacks overnight into Sunday killed one person and wounded 19 others, including four children, local officials said, when a drone hit a nine-story apartment block in the city of Vyshhorod in the Kyiv region.

In a post on Telegram Sunday, Zelenskyy said Russia had attacked Ukraine with 122 strike drones and ballistic missiles.

"Such attacks occur daily. This week alone, Russians have used nearly 1,400 strike drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs and 66 missiles against our people. That is why we must strengthen Ukraine’s resilience every day. Missiles and air defense systems are necessary, and we must also actively work with our partners for peace," Zelenskyy said.

"We need real, reliable solutions that will help end the war," he added.

After Ukraine claimed responsibility for damaging a major oil terminal on Saturday near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Kazakhstan told Ukraine on Sunday to stop attacking the Black Sea terminal.

The CPC pipeline, which starts in Kazakhstan and ends at the Novorossisyk terminal, handles a large proportion of Kazakhstan's oil exports.

"We view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and we expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future," Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.