Ukraine says peace will only be possible if Russia shows a real commitment. The governments of the United States and Ukraine agreed after two days of meetings between negotiators from both nations that any progress toward a peace agreement in the war depends on Russia demonstrating a serious and tangible commitment. The statement came during the sixth meeting between Special Envoy for Peace Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner with Ukraine's Secretary of National Security and Defense, Rustem Umerov, and the Chief of the General Staff, General Andriy Hnatov. On his official X account, Witkoff stated that «the end of the war and credible measures toward a ceasefire and de-escalation are necessary to prevent new aggression and make Ukraine's comprehensive development plan possible». The Trump envoy added that, along with Ukraine, they agreed that a short-term agreement depends exclusively on Russia complying with measures for «de-escalation and the cessation of killings». A U.S. delegation led by two emissaries from President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, traveled to Moscow at the beginning of this week to personally present to President Vladimir Putin the results of the previous round of contacts with the Ukrainians. Putin made it clear after that meeting that he will not renounce his territorial ambitions in Ukraine for the sake of peace. The revised version of the plan has been rejected by Moscow as a basis for starting direct negotiations.
