Miami talks end early: delegation heads home as Zelensky calls allies

The delegation heads home

Talks between the United States, Ukraine, European countries and NATO in Miami on ways to de-escalate and end the war ended early. On 10 October presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn confirmed to journalists: “The groups are already on their way home.”

According to Lytvyn, the second day of talks “wasn’t exactly cancelled — the first one just turned out longer and with a somewhat different flavour”. Asked about a possible meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, he said calls are planned for Saturday, Sunday and Monday but their formats are still being worked out.

The delegation, announced by Zelensky on 8 October, included Servant of the People faction leader Davyd Arakhamia, Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov, head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov and his first deputy Serhii Kyslytsia. The talks went off course after Donald Trump announced on 9 October an agreement with Putin to lift sanctions on Russian diesel. Zelensky said the Ukrainian team had been used as a “screen”.

Calls to Paris, London and Oslo

On 10 October Zelensky held a series of calls with European leaders. He spoke with Emmanuel Macron during Saturday’s ballistic attack on Kyiv. “The need for additional air defence packages for Ukraine is obvious… Unfortunately, there is a particular threat of further missile strikes these days,” the president wrote. They discussed “the challenges caused by the easing of sanctions on petroleum products”.

Zelensky called his conversation with the British prime minister “very good and timely”: he briefed him on Russian attacks, stressed that air defence is the top priority and thanked London for continuing to increase sanctions pressure. “We are preparing the right joint steps and a meeting,” he added. Separately, Zelensky spoke with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre: “This is a particularly important time when new steps are needed so that Russia does not get the impression it can break the world and continue the war endlessly.”

What the US offered Moscow in September

Meanwhile, The New York Times, citing Ukrainian officials, reported that in September Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner offered Russia three economic incentives for a limited ceasefire — in the energy sector or at sea. They included unfreezing part of the Russian sovereign assets frozen in the West as an upfront incentive, a plan to sell a stake in Lukoil to a group of Middle Eastern investors, and allowing Belarus to export potash.

According to the paper, Ukrainian officials were surprised at how far the American negotiators went. Kyiv did not reject the proposals outright but demanded safeguards — such as mirror payments to Ukraine or guarantees of additional military aid if the ceasefire were violated.

What next

The coming days will show in what format diplomacy continues: Kyiv is preparing meetings with European partners, and on Monday EU foreign ministers are due to adopt a new sanctions list against Russia, the largest since the war began.