‘The Last Mile Is the Hardest’: Zelensky Says Peace Talks Are Alive, No Dead End Seen

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s negotiations with the United States are continuing and have not reached a dead end, despite an unusual lack of public comment from Washington after recent talks in Florida.

Zelensky was responding to questions about a weekend meeting in Miami that ended without any statement from the US side – a departure from earlier rounds that were publicly framed as progress.

“I don’t see a dead end,” Zelensky said, replying to a Kyiv Post question on messenger. “Work on the documents is ongoing. The talks are constant, and they are definitely not about a stalemate.”

He said communication with US counterparts is active and ongoing, including overnight discussions. Zelensky confirmed repeated contact with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who remains in touch with US officials, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Zelensky described the current phase as the most difficult, often referred to as “the last mile,” but said that difficulty does not signal failure.

“The last stage is always the hardest,” he said. “But the talks are alive.”

The Miami meeting took place as Ukraine faces renewed Russian strikes on energy infrastructure and pushes to secure US security guarantees and economic agreements ahead of further consultations expected on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

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Despite the silence from Washington, Zelensky said the diplomatic track remains active and moving forward.

Silence after the Miami meeting

The Miami talks ended the way they began: in silence. While Ukrainian officials described a weekend of “substantial consultations,” the US side – including the host, Steve Witkoff – said nothing. No statement, no tweet, no readout.

The radio silence marked a sharp break from Witkoff’s earlier practice of publicly signaling progress and stood out in a process once billed by President Donald Trump as central to an expanded US-Ukraine diplomatic push.

Only Kyiv filled the vacuum. Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, Olha Stefanishyna, said talks would continue in Davos, while chief negotiator Rustem Umerov cited discussions on security guarantees, economic cooperation and Russia’s latest strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid.

But the absence of senior US officials – including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – underscored uncertainty over Washington’s approach, leaving the Miami round defined by process without product as attention shifts to the next stage in Davos and Switzerland.