Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a "very good" Christmas Day call with Trump advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, per a post to X Thursday that Kushner reposted.
The big picture: Zelensky, President Trump's son-in-law Kushner and Witkoff discussed "new ideas in terms of formats, meetings, and, of course, timing on how to bring a real peace closer," the Ukrainian leader said in a video address to his nation later Thursday that was posted to his social media channels.
- Also on the call to discuss Trump's 20-point peace plan was Ukraine's top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, whom Zelensky said "will continue discussions with the American team."
- Ukraine has so far rejected aspects of the plan that would include major territorial losses and other concessions.
Zoom in: Zelensky in his X post thanked Witkoff and Kushner for their "constructive approach" and said they "discussed certain substantive details" on the peace talks.
- Ukrainian officials believe that Umerov's continued discussions with the U.S. envoys is "the right approach — not to lose a single day or a single opportunity that can bring the result closer," Zelensky added.
The other side: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters Thursday Russian officials were "seeing slow but steady progress" in peace talks with the U.S.
Go deeper: Ukraine and U.S. divided over territory after intense negotiations
