Zelensky says Ukrainian negotiator Umerov to hold talks in Brussels

• After visiting Brussels, Rustem Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, will begin preparations for a meeting with Trump envoys in the US

KYIV: Senior Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov will hold talks in Brussels on Wednesday with European leaders’ national security advisers and then visit the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

He was speaking after US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday for talks. The Kremlin said on Wednesday no compromise had been reached on a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

“Ukrainian representatives will brief their colleagues in Europe on what is known following yesterday’s contacts by the American side in Moscow, and they will also discuss the European component of the necessary security architecture,” Zelensky said on Telegram. After visiting Brussels, Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, will begin preparations for a meeting with Trump envoys in the US, he added.

“This is our ongoing coordination with partners, and we ensure that the negotiation process is fully active,” Zelensky said. A leaked set of 28 US draft peace proposals emerged last week, alarming Ukrainian and European officials who said it bowed to Moscow’s main demands on NATO, Russian control of a fifth of Ukraine and restrictions on Ukraine’s army.

European powers then came up with a counter-proposal, and at talks in Geneva, the United States and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war. Details of those talks have not been released made public.