Trump's team reports concrete progress in Ukraine peace negotiations with European partners

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said talks in Florida between American, Ukrainian and European officials have produced concrete progress toward a structured peace framework, fueling signs that negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine may be entering a decisive phase.

"Over the last three days in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation held a series of productive and constructive meetings with American and European partners," Witkoff wrote on X. "The Ukrainian delegation included Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Andriy Hnatov."

The American delegation included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and White House staff member Josh Gruenbaum, alongside key national security advisors from Europe.

"A separate constructive meeting was also held in a U.S.–Ukraine format, during which four key documents were focused on: further development of a 20-point plan, aligning positions on a Multilateral security guarantee framework, aligning positions on a US Security guarantee framework for Ukraine, and further development on an economic & prosperity plan," Witkoff said. "Particular attention was given to discussing timelines and the sequencing of next steps.

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"Ukraine remains fully committed to achieving a just and sustainable peace," he continued. "Our shared priority is to stop the killing, ensure guaranteed security, and create conditions for Ukraine’s recovery, stability, and long-term prosperity. Peace must be not only a cessation of hostilities, but also a dignified foundation for a stable future.

"Ukraine highly values the leadership and support of the United States and the continued close coordination with its partners in the next stages of this important work," Witkoff concluded.

The special envoy’s comments come after Finland President Alexander Stubb said Sunday that negotiators are closer than at any point during the war to securing a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, crediting U.S. diplomacy and pressure from sanctions on Russian oil as talks enter what he described as their most difficult final stage.

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"We’re probably closer [to reaching a peace agreement] than we have been at any time of this war," Stubb said on "The Sunday Briefing."

He added that Kushner and Witkoff have spent the past several weeks "working around the clock" to narrow differences between the two sides.

Stubb also credited unity between Western allies after talks last weekend in Berlin, making note of two key takeaways.

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"One was that Europe, Ukraine and the United States were united in our resolve to get a just and lasting peace... and the second one was the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine," Stubb said. "So, we're sort of almost there, but the most difficult 5% are still left."

Stubb said Russia’s private negotiating posture may be more flexible than President Vladimir Putin’s public rhetoric but warned Moscow’s core objective remains the destruction of Ukraine’s existence.

The Finnish president added that he has been in close contact with Trump, Witkoff and Kushner as talks intensify, arguing that mounting economic pressure on Russia is making the negotiating strategy effective.

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U.S. sanctions on Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft are biting, Stubb said, warning that a flat rejection of a U.S.-Ukraine-Europe peace framework should trigger even tougher measures.

He argued that U.S. sanctions targeting Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft have been particularly effective.

If Russia were to flatly reject a peace framework agreed upon by Ukraine, Europe and the U.S., "that's when it's time to hike up the sanctions," Stubb said, "because they work."

Fox News Digital’s Max Bacall contributed to this report.

Vance says 'America First' movement rejects 'purity tests,' welcomes critical thinkers

Vice President JD Vance closed out AmericaFest 2025, Turning Point USA's first convention since founder Charlie Kirk's assassination, by telling a raucous crowd that the "America First" movement is open to free thinkers who love their country.

Vance appeared shortly after Erika Kirk, who took TPUSA's reins after her husband's death in September, held a discussion with surprise guest Nicki Minaj. The vice president told the crowd that the political coalition forged by President Trump is strong enough to surmount disagreements within.

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"People of every faith come to our banner because they know that the America First movement will make our lives better," he went on. "They know Democrats don't care about anything other than trans-ing their kids."

Vowing to stand with "every patriot in this room to defend the country we so dearly love," Vance dismissed conservative infighting that had gone on earlier in the conference, while not naming any of the podcasters or subjects involved.

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"President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests," Vance said, as some of the earlier speakers name-dropped each other amid divisions over Israel, Ukraine aid and other controversial issues on the right.

"We don't care if you're White or Black, rich or poor, young or old, rural or urban, controversial or a little bit boring, or somewhere in between… [P]eople of every faith come to our banner because they know that the America First movement will make their lives better. And they also know that the Democrats don't care about anything other than maybe trans-ing their kids."

"So if you love America, if you want all of us to be richer, stronger, safer, and prouder, you have a home on this team. I didn't bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform, and I don't really care if some people out there -- I'm sure we'll have the fake news media -- denounce me after this speech."

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Later in the speech, however, he said that such infighting is not necessarily a sign of a weak or fractious movement.

"Some of you are impatient at the pace of progress and my response to that is 'Good,'" he said, appearing to refer to criticisms of the Republican Congress' progress on the America First agenda.

"I know some of you are discouraged by the infighting over any number of issues. Don't be discouraged," he added.

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"Wouldn't you rather lead a movement of freethinkers who sometimes disagree than a bunch of drones who take their orders from George Soros?" he quipped.

He said Charlie Kirk once told him that politics is not a "dress rehearsal or a game" but a series of decisions that will shape the future of a country.

"My friends, commit to these things, and I promise you victory: I promise you closed borders and safe communities. I promise you good jobs and a dignified life. Only God can promise you salvation and heaven. But together we can fulfill the promise of the greatest nation in the history of the earth," he said, as he closed his speech.

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During his address, he delved further into what is important to fulfilling "America First."

"We have far more important work to do than canceling each other -- we have got to build, and President Donald Trump is a builder," he said. "We're building a better country right now. We build by adding, by growing, not by tearing down."

Vance declared that 2025 represented the first year in more than half a century with negative net-migration and that millions of illegal immigrants have either left the U.S. or been deported.

"When you restore sanity at the border, it shows up everywhere else," he said, pointing to rent costs, gas prices, inflation and unemployment declining.

"We made it clear that in the United States we believe in hard work and merit --we dont treat anybody [a certain way] because of their race or their sex, so we have relegated DEI to the dustbin of history which is exactly where it belongs."

He said that to honor Kirk's life, the Trump administration will continue working to end the "scourge of left-wing violence" including by not only arresting Antifa members who throw bricks, but "who bought the brick -- and we're going to prosecute them too" -- referring to shadowy, deep-pocketed leftist interests.

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