The last round of trilateral talks, held in Geneva in February, ended without a breakthrough. Soon after, the US-Israel war on Iran diverted Washington's attention from Ukraine, and no further discussions were held.
President Donald Trump has pushed for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war since returning to power. Earlier talks produced no breakthrough, and the process was sidelined by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
European leaders, largely excluded from the peace talks, have pressed to be involved, amid concern that decisions about the security of their continent would be made without them.
The official said the Donetsk question and the wider territorial dispute would not be settled until the parties knew the shape of the postwar security architecture."They will not solve the Donetsk issue and the territorial issue until they know what the security architecture is going to be after the war,"the official said.
The US official said the Americans would propose moving to a multilateral format that would bring the Europeans into the discussion. Officials also floated reactivating the Nato-Russia Council, which has been largely paused since 2022.
Witkoff said a lasting peace remained the central focus."Alongside a central focus on a lasting peace, the discussion covered how to build upon existing European security institutions and agreements following the conclusion of the war in Ukraine,"he said in a post on X. Speaking on the eve of the talks, the official said the unchanged public positions were only the open stance, and that both sides had shown"a little bit of flexibility, privately".
Witkoff said participants discussed how to build on those institutions and agreements after the war, while recognising that addressing postwar security concerns and reducing the risk of future conflict would be essential. The official said one issue could not be finalised without the other. For Ukraine, a postwar security architecture may include reassurance that allies would come to its aid if it were attacked again.
Sybiha said Kyiv was ready to develop mutually beneficial security and economic cooperation with Washington, including joint drone production and other prospective projects.