Territorial Lines at Center of U.S.–Ukraine Peace Talks in Florida

Negotiations between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Florida centered largely on where a potential demarcation line could run.

The Gaze reports this, referring to Axios. 

Ukrainian officials described territorial control as the core issue on the table. They noted that discussions revolved around which areas, currently held by Russia, might remain occupied in a negotiated settlement. 

An early U.S. draft peace proposal of 28 points reportedly suggested Ukraine could cede the remaining free areas of Donetsk region without further fighting – a provision Kyiv has strongly rejected publicly.

The meeting, which Ukrainian participants characterized as “difficult, intense, but ultimately productive,” lasted roughly five hours. 

For part of the session, a smaller group continued talks: Steve Witkoff, Marco Rubio, and Jared Kushner represented the U.S., while Ukraine was represented by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, intelligence deputy Vadym Skibitskyi, and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Hnatov. At that point, territorial control became the sole subject of the discussion, the sources said.

After the smaller-format talks, Umerov held a private one-on-one discussion with Witkoff and subsequently briefed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Wall Street Journal, citing a senior U.S. official, reported the talks lasted more than four hours and also covered the timeline for Ukrainian elections, Western security guarantees, the prospect of land swaps, and whether Russia would demand the formal recognition of occupied territories.

Following the briefing, Zelenskyy stated there was “constructive movement” in negotiations, while U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated that there remained “a chance for a deal.”

According to multiple media outlets, the three dominant issues were: territorial arrangements, future security guarantees for Ukraine, and the timetable for elections.

As The Gaze reported earlier, a leaked phone call published by Bloomberg shows U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff advising a top Kremlin official on how Russian President Vladimir Putin should lobby Trump over a controversial peace plan for Ukraine.

Read the full analysis on The Gaze: What the Witkoff Scandal Means for the Peace Negotiations