Russia Ukraine United States

US, Ukrainian and European officials held talks in Miami on Oct 9 as Washington renewed its effort to find a negotiated end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, amid warnings that the conflict remains at a dangerous stalemate.

US envoy Steve Witkoff described the meeting as constructive and said participants examined possible ways to reduce tensions and bring the war to a close before winter, while working toward what he called a durable and lasting peace.

According to Witkoff, the meeting brought together Ukraine, NATO, the European Commission and the E3, a grouping that includes Britain, France and Germany. The agenda included energy resilience, grain exports, security guarantees, and longer-term arrangements intended to safeguard Ukraine and Europe and prevent another conflict.

Witkoff said officials also had a productive discussion on Ukraine’s eventual reconstruction and economic prosperity, including its accession to the European Union. He did not say whether the participants would reconvene on Oct 10, as had originally been planned.

Warnings over escalation

The diplomatic effort came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Oct 8 that the failure to achieve a negotiated settlement had left the war at an impasse that could become explosive.

“The other way that stalemates end is through escalation,” Rubio told reporters in Lisbon, warning that the fighting could extend to neighbouring NATO countries. “We do not believe that there is a military solution to this conflict,” he added.

The Miami discussions were also held as energy prices remained a major concern. President Donald Trump has blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries for rising fuel prices, although the US-Israeli war with Iran has been the main disruption to global energy supplies.

After a telephone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Oct 9, Trump said Russia would immediately provide more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to US and global markets, followed by another 500,000 tonnes in November. The US Treasury Department said it would issue a temporary licence allowing Russian diesel to reach global markets. It was not immediately clear whether Trump and Putin discussed Ukraine during the call.

Fresh proposals and a territorial dispute

The meeting followed September visits to Moscow and Kyiv by Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a long-time presidential adviser. The visits formed part of Washington’s effort to revive negotiations that have made little progress.

A source familiar with the discussions told AFP that US negotiators had since been developing new proposals with Russian and Ukrainian officials. The approach of winter has added urgency, as continued fighting and strikes on essential infrastructure remain a prospect.

Renewed diplomacy has taken place alongside deadly Russian attacks. One strike on buses in the frontline Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed 30 people.

Trump’s earlier attempts to broker a settlement have been held up by Moscow’s broad territorial demands. Russia has particularly insisted on control of all of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, including territory that remains under Kyiv’s control.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected giving up Ukrainian-held territory, saying Russia could use it as a launching point for another attack. Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, occupies about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.

US sources said European officials have raised concerns about elevated energy costs and the wider economic effects of the war. Axios reported that Witkoff and Kushner briefed Trump on their latest proposals on Oct 8, at a meeting attended by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior US officials.

The US administration hopes to achieve diplomatic progress before November’s midterm elections and is also seeking to organise broader Russia-Ukraine talks later this month. The Kremlin has indicated that three-way negotiations could resume in October, but no date has been announced.