by Felicia Schwartz and Paul McLeary at Politico
The negotiations follow U.S.-Ukraine-Europe security guarantee discussions in Berlin.
U.S. and Russian officials are expected to meet in Miami this weekend as part of the Trump administration’s push to bring an end to nearly four years of war between Kyiv and Moscow, according to two people familiar with the matter.
As President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the fighting have faltered, the U.S. has ratcheted up pressure on Ukraine to make concessions that would end the war. The plans remain in flux, but if they go ahead this weekend, the administration will present the outcome of the most recent round of discussions to Russian officials, who have not shifted much on their demands.
The Russian delegation is expected to include the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. Both people were granted anonymity to discuss plans for the next rounds of sensitive talks. Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to represent the U.S. side.
Witkoff and Kushner earlier this week held marathon talks in Berlin with Ukrainian and European officials to agree on U.S. security guarantees for Kyiv, territorial concessions and other matters as Washington continued to pressure Kyiv in its push to end the war. The U.S. has offered a mutual defense promise similar to the pledge it has made to NATO members while Ukraine has backed off its demand to immediately join the trans-Atlantic alliance…