Kyiv Tries to Restart Diplomatic Momentum With High-Level US Meetings

Ukraine\'s top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, arrived in Miami for meetings with U.S. officials on Thursday, highlighting Kyiv\'s attempt to revive diplomacy after months of limited movement in peace efforts with Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Umerov had been tasked with discussing a possible prisoner-of-war exchange as well as broader efforts to push negotiations forward. The visit comes at a time when formal progress has slowed and the main sticking points remain unchanged.

The central obstacle is the eastern Donetsk region. Moscow wants Ukraine to withdraw from territory that Russian forces have not fully captured, while Kyiv refuses to surrender land that remains under its control. That leaves little room for a quick political compromise.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine is maintaining constant communication with the United States and is trying to ensure that American contacts with both Kyiv and Moscow help move events toward what he described as a dignified peace and meaningful security guarantees.

The talks also reflect concern in Kyiv that the war in Ukraine has been pushed down Washington\'s priority list as attention shifted toward conflict involving Iran. A high-level meeting in Miami gives Ukraine a chance to reassert its position directly.

Recent diplomacy has also changed in structure. The last trilateral round involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States took place in February. Since then, Ukrainian and Russian officials have largely dealt with the American side separately, which makes coordination slower and trust harder to build.

For that reason, Umerov\'s trip should be seen less as a breakthrough and more as a strategic effort to keep diplomacy alive. In a stalled negotiation, even preserving contact can be an important objective.