Zelenskyy: Ukraine and US have held two days of talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine and the United States have been engaged in high-level talks over the past two days. The discussions reportedly involved Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and Jared Kushner, who served as a senior advisor to former US President Donald Trump and is his son-in-law.

Zelenskyy made these remarks during a visit to a site recently impacted by a significant Russian attack on Kyiv. While he did not disclose specific details about the content or location of these conversations, he expressed his continued hope that Kushner and US special envoy Steve Witkoff would visit Ukraine. This comes at a time when US-backed peace negotiations to end the ongoing war have reportedly stalled for several months.

Kushner and Witkoff have previously traveled to Moscow multiple times to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine over four years ago. However, they have not yet visited Ukrainian territory. Zelenskyy also indicated his intention to meet with Trump, potentially on the sidelines of the upcoming NATO summit scheduled to take place in Ankara, Turkey, next week.

The Ukrainian president's statements highlight ongoing diplomatic efforts, even amidst stalled peace talks, to find a resolution to the conflict. The involvement of figures connected to the former US administration suggests a potential parallel track of diplomacy alongside official US-led initiatives.