Trump sees peace ‘eventually’ in Ukraine after Russia rejected the latest plan

President Trump on Thursday said the US is “working very hard” for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal as officials from Kyiv and Washington huddled in Miami to find a path forward.

The US-Ukraine talks come two days after Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met for five-hours with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and left without a deal. Still, the president remained optimistic a resolution could come “eventually.”

“We’re making peace all over the world. We’re settling wars at levels that nobody’s ever seen before. Eight of them. We’re looking for one more — that’s Russia-Ukraine,” he said at the national tree-lighting ceremony near the White House. “If that’s possible, and I think we’ll get there eventually.”

“Last week, 8,000 soldiers killed. Last month, they had 27,000 soldiers needlessly killed. We got to get that stopped. And we’re working very hard on it.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was looking for a debrief on Thursday from the US on the sticking points after their Russia meeting.

“Our task now is to obtain full information about what was said in Moscow and what other pretexts Putin has come up with to drag out the war and to pressure Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a post to X on Thursday announcing the talks would occur.

A senior US official on Wednesday told The Post that Witkoff and Kushner had invited Ukraine’s lead negotiator and national security advisor Rustem Umerov to Miami for a meeting.

They, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, last met the Ukrainians on Sunday in Miami, where they discussed the 19-point plan they hammered out together in Geneva last month.

“It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting,” Rubio said following the meeting in Hallandale Beach, north of Miami.

“It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity … I think we built on that today, but there’s more work to be done.”

Zelensky’s Thursday post — which did not say who was representing the US and Ukrainian sides in the talks — noted that “Ukraine is prepared for any possible developments.”

“Of course we will work as constructively as possible with all partners to ensure that peace is achieved – and that it is, after all, a dignified peace,” he said. “Only a dignified peace provides real security, and we fully understand that this requires – and will continue to require – the support of our partners.”

The White House did not immediately respond for a request for comment on whether the talks had begun late Thursday afternoon.

Details on the US talks with the Kremlin have been closely guarded since the meeting’s end.

Putin aide Yuri Ushakov on Tuesday claimed the Russians and Americans discussed four different versions of a peace plan in their talks.

“Some of the formulations we were offered are unacceptable. Therefore, the work will continue,” he said.