Ukraine and the United States have agreed to continue discussions after a call between Ukrainian Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Yermak said on Wednesday.
In a tweet on X, Yermak stated he and Waltz had discussed taking steps towards “a just and lasting peace” and security issues in their bilateral relationship. He further stated both sides had set a meeting for their teams to resume negotiations soon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later highlighted “positive movement” in US-Ukraine cooperation, signaling the possibility of an upcoming high-level meeting. Kyiv is eager to strengthen ties with Washington following last week’s public disagreement between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump over the war’s resolution.
“Today, the Ukrainian and American teams started preparations for a dialogue. Andriy Yermak and Mike Waltz voiced their opinions there,” Reuters said, citing in his evening statement Zelenskyy: “There’s positive movement in this direction, and we might see the very first results coming next week, hopefully.”.
The renewed diplomatic efforts come after CIA Director John Ratcliffe revealed that the US had temporarily paused intelligence-sharing with Ukraine. Speaking to Fox Business Network, Ratcliffe explained that Trump ordered the pause to assess Zelenskyy’s commitment to the peace process.
“What President Trump said is, he asked for a pause,” Ratcliffe stated. He described Trump as “the peace president” and claimed the temporary halt aimed to encourage Ukraine’s commitment to negotiations.
Following Zelenskyy’s statement reaffirming his readiness for peace and Trump’s leadership in the process, Ratcliffe suggested the pause would soon be lifted, allowing military and intelligence cooperation to resume.
