The new talks in Florida were a continuation of the recent negotiations in Geneva, and the starting point was the 19-point draft that was developed last weekend by Ukraine and the United States. The goal was to agree on letters that could be taken to Russia, for negotiations in Moscow next week.
Productive conversations
The leader of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, says in an initial brief comment that the talks have been "productive and successful."
"Our main goals – security, sovereignty and sustainable peace – are unchanged and shared by the United States," he wrote on social media, according to the Kyiv Independent.
"We have achieved tangible successes in moving closer to a dignified peace and in bringing our and the US's positions closer together," he continues in a tone close to the relative optimism expressed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the meeting.
Neither Zelensky nor Donald Trump participated directly in the talks. However, Trump commented on them an hour or so afterwards, saying that there was a good chance of an agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Much work remains
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the US delegation, said the meeting went well, but that much work remains.
He repeated his words from before the meeting, about "bringing an end to the war that gives Ukraine sovereignty and independence with opportunities for real prosperity," but also acknowledges that it is a difficult balancing act.
"This is delicate, it is complicated, and of course there is another party involved in this," he says after the meeting, referring to Russia.
US envoy Steve Witkoff, who participated in Florida, will, according to sources to AFP, travel to Moscow as early as Monday.
