Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held two rounds of meetings with American envoys on Wednesday, seeking to revive stalled diplomacy and secure weapons production capabilities.
Zelenskyy first met with US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker and Curtis Bazzard, the head of NATO's special mission, to discuss licensing Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles. He later spoke by phone with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about intensifying diplomatic efforts to bring peace closer. Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov, Kyrylo Budanov, and Sergiy Kyslytsya participated in the call.
US-led peace talks have stalled since the conflict between Washington and Tehran began in late February. The last round of negotiations took place February 17-18 in Geneva. A key sticking point remains Russia's demand for complete Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donbas, which Kyiv rejects. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday in Manila.