Official peace talks between the U.S. and Ukraine on ending the Ukraine war moved to a productive phase Sunday – but only after President Zelenskyy sent a new-look team to Florida, according to a former Ukrainian government official.
With Rustem Umerov now leading Zelenskyy's team and longtime adviser and chief of staff Andriy Yermak out, the source claimed the move signaled Kyiv was reassessing its "uncompromising" stance.
The official, who spoke to Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity, said the personnel choice represented a move away from the approach that has shaped Ukraine’s diplomatic strategy for years.
"Yermak had been teaching Zelenskyy to be a 'Father of the Nation’ and until now, the Ukrainian side has been pushing for an unachievable and uncompromising position," the former official said.
"Umerov is not a very impressively strong individual in politics, but he wants to achieve results and is known to be aligned with compromise."
Ukraine’s new delegation also included Andrii Hnatov, head of the armed forces; Andrii Sybiha, the foreign minister; and Umerov, who is head of the country’s security council.
After the meeting, Umerov offered a brief assessment to reporters, saying: "We are grateful to American people, American leadership and a great team with, state secretary, Steve, with both Jared Kushner for their tremendous work with us," he said.
"Our objective is a prosperous, strong Ukraine. We will [be] discussing [sic] the future of Ukraine. We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine, for Ukrainian people. And the U.S was super supportive."
"We already had a successful meeting in Geneva, and today we can continue this success. So at the moment, this meeting was productive and successful in the later stages."
The new team traveled to Florida for discussions aimed at refining President Trump’s proposed framework and his push to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Sunday’s negotiations also took place after a leak published by Bloomberg News, revealed a transcript of an Oct. 14 call where special envoy Steve Witkoffallegedly offered advice to Russian officials on how to sell a peace plan to Trump.
"The Ukrainian side had in some way undermined peace negotiations and Donald Trump's efforts, not mentioning that it prolongs the war," the former official said.
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