Latest round of talks between Ukraine, US conclude as Trump seeks swift peace | World News

The latest round of talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US envoys ended Monday as they and European allies seek an end to Russia’s nearly four-year war.Ukraine faces Washington’s pressure to swiftly accept a US-brokered peace deal in the face of an increasingly assertive Moscow.

There were no immediate comments on the talks in Berlin that involved President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as European officials, which lasted roughly 90 minutes after a five-hour session Sunday.

The U.S. government said in a social media post on Witkoff’s account after Sunday’s meeting that “a lot of progress was made.”

The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied Russian forces.Story continues below this ad

Zelenskyy has expressed readiness to drop Ukraine’s bid to join the NATO military alliance if the U.S. and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees similar to those offered to NATO members. But Ukraine’s preference remains NATO membership as the best security guarantee to prevent further Russian aggression however this option doesn’t currently have full backing from all allies.

Still, Ukraine has continued to reject the U.S. push for ceding territory to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the part of Donetsk region still under its control as one of the key conditions for peace.

Zelenskyy’s itinerary on Monday also included meetings with German and other European leaders.

“The issue of security in particular will ultimately determine whether this war actually comes to a standstill and whether it flares up again,” a spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Stefan Kornelius, told reporters.Story continues below this ad

The Russian president has cast Ukraine’s bid to join NATO as a major threat to Moscow’s security and a reason for launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine renounce the bid for alliance membership as part of any prospective peace settlement.

Zelenskyy emphasized that any Western security assurances would need to be legally binding and supported the U.S. Congress.

The Kremlin said Monday it expected to be the Berlin talks the U.S. side.

Asked whether the negotiations could be over Chrmas, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said trying to predict a potential time frame for a peace deal was a “thankless task.”Story continues below this ad

“I can only speak for the Russian side, for President Putin,” Peskov said. “He is open to peace, to a serious peace and serious decisions. He is absolutely not open to any tricks aimed at stalling for time.”

Putin has denied plans to attack any European allies.

In London, meanwhile, the new head of the MI6 spy agency was set to warn on Monday how Putin’s determination to export chaos around the world is rewriting the rules of conflict and creating new security challenges.

Blaise Metreweli was using her first public speech as chief of the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence service to say that Britain faces increasingly unpredictable and interconnected threats, with emphasis on “aggressive, expansion” Russia.

Drone strikes continue

Russia fired 153 drones of various types at Ukraine overnight Sunday into Monday, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, which said 133 drones were neutralized, while 17 more hit their targets.Story continues below this ad

In Russia, the Defense Minry on Monday said forces destroyed 130 Ukrainian drones overnight. An additional 16 drones were destroyed between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. local time.

Eighteen drones were shot down over Moscow itself, the defense minry said. Flights were temporarily halted at the city’s Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports as part of safety measures, officials said.

Damage details and casualty figures were not immediately available.