The Japan Times - Trump optimistic after Ukraine talks as Rubio says 'more work' needed

After hours of what both sides called "productive" discussions in Hallandale Beach, north of Miami, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that more work was required, and a source in Kyiv's delegation characterized the discussions as "not easy."

The talks, which come as Kyiv battles military pressure and reels from a domestic corruption scandal, set the stage for a visit to Moscow by Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to discuss Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Washington has put forward a plan to end the nearly four-year conflict and is seeking to finalize it with Moscow and Kyiv's approval.

"Ukraine's got some difficult little problems," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, referring to a corruption probe that recently forced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sack his chief of staff and top negotiator.

"But I think that there's a good chance we can make a deal."

Rubio earlier told reporters the Florida talks -- also attended by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner -- were "very productive" but "there's more work to be done."

"This is delicate. It's complicated," Rubio said.

"There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there's another party involved here that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week when Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow."

Ukraine's security council secretary Rustem Umerov led Kyiv's delegation, which also included Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Ukraine's armed forces, and presidential adviser Oleksandr Bevz.

Umerov wrote on Facebook that he had briefed Zelensky on the "substantial progress" made in the talks.

"It is important that the talks have a constructive dynamic and that all issues were discussed openly and with a clear focus on ensuring Ukraine's sovereignty and national interests," Zelensky wrote on X after the talks.

- Flurry of diplomacy -

An initial 28-point US proposal -- drafted without input from Ukraine's European allies -- would have required Kyiv to withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region, and the United States then would de facto recognize the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

The United States pared back the original draft following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but the current contents remain unclear.

A source close to the Kyiv delegation in Florida told AFP on Sunday that "the process is not easy because the search for formulations and solutions continues."

Another source briefed on the developments told AFP that "the Americans really want the final points to be agreed upon" ahead of the US talks in Moscow.

After the Florida negotiations, French President Emmanuel Macron is set to host Zelensky for talks in Paris on Monday.

Rubio is set to skip a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday and Thursday in Brussels, despite allies' concerns about the US plan for Ukraine. But Witkoff will head to Russia on Monday and is expected to meet Putin on Tuesday.

The flurry of diplomacy comes as the war -- which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel and displaced millions of Ukrainians -- shows no sign of easing.

- Russian oil terminal hit -

Ahead of the Florida talks, Russia's forces targeted Ukraine's capital and the region for two nights in a row as they advanced on the front line.

A drone attack in the outskirts of Kyiv killed one person and wounded 11 late Saturday, the regional governor said.

Hours earlier, a Ukrainian security source said Kyiv was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Black Sea that it believed were covertly transporting sanctioned Russian oil.

One of Russia's largest oil terminals halted operations on Saturday following a drone attack.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), a group that includes US oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil and which owns the terminal, called the strike a "terrorist attack."

Ukraine, which did not comment on the incident, regularly targets Russian energy facilities in a bid to sap the country's war chest.

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H.Takahashi--JT