Top Zelensky aide says Ukraine-US meeting 'in near future'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aide said a meeting between Washington and Kyiv delegations was scheduled for the “near future” to further discuss peace talks that could end the three-year war in Eastern Europe.
Andriy Yermak, who serves as Zelensky’s chief of staff, wrote on Wednesday that he and national security adviser Mike Waltz “discussed the next steps towards a just and lasting peace.”
“We also exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions within the framework of bilateral relations between Ukraine and the United States,” Yermak said on social platform X. "We have scheduled a meeting for our teams in the near future to continue this important work.”
Zelensky mentioned the developing dialogue between the two sides in his daily address on Wednesday.
"Everyone can see how fast diplomatic events are developing. Today, our Ukrainian and U.S. teams have started working on a meeting,” Zelensky said. “There is a positive movement,"
The discussion between Yermak and Waltz came as the Trump administration’s officials confirmed earlier Wednesday that the U.S. had halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
“We have taken a step back, and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship,” Waltz told reporters.
“But I just got off the phone before I walked out here with my counterpart, the Ukrainian national security adviser,” Waltz added. “We are having good talks on location for the next round of negotiations, on delegations, on substance.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said during an interview that a pause in intelligence sharing with Ukraine, as the war-torn country fights against Russia, is intended to make Zelensky rethink his current approach to peace talks.
Ratcliffe, a former House GOP lawmaker, added that Ukraine’s president’s statements this week, in which he expressed intention to sign a minerals deal and pursue peace discussions, show the U.S. approach is working.
“I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen I think will go away, and I think we’ll work shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, but to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward,” Ratcliffe said.
The Trump administration also temporarily paused aid flowing to Ukraine.
Trump has pushed to reach a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia for some time. The president spoke with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin in January.
Zelensky, Trump and Vice President Vance had a falling out in the Oval Office on Friday, a meeting that appeared to damage relations between Washington and Kiev. Ukraine’s delegation departed early and the scheduled press conference was canceled.
Since then, Trump has expressed openness to continue dialogue with Ukraine that would lead to a ceasefire in Eastern Europe. Zelensky described the Friday huddle as “regrettable,” argued that Kyiv is open to penning the minerals agreement and that Ukraine is ready to participate in peace discussions.
“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way,” Zelensky wrote Tuesday. “It is time to make things right.”
“We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” he added.
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