U.S. and Ukraine hold Berlin talks ahead of summit on ceasefire plan

Germany is convening U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Berlin this weekend for intensive discussions on a possible ceasefire, ahead of a summit on Monday that will bring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy together with senior European leaders. The weekend meetings, reported by multiple outlets and dated Dec. 13, focus on translating political ideas into a written framework ahead of wider consultations.

The United States is sending presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, a White House official confirmed to AFP, and several outlets report additional U.S. participants will travel to the German capital. Some reporting says Jared Kushner, described as President Donald Trump’s son in law, will accompany U.S. envoys and meet Mr. Zelenskiy and European leaders in Berlin, though accounts of the U.S. delegation vary. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signaled conditional U.S. participation, saying it will depend "very much" on progress in negotiations this weekend between the E3, Ukraine and the United States over the underlying documents.

European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are preparing to use Monday’s meeting to assess "the state of the peace talks" and to align positions on an emerging plan that centers on protecting energy facilities and ports. That strand of negotiations is closely linked to shipping and energy infrastructure and reflects active mediation by Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pursued a ceasefire proposal in talks with President Vladimir Putin in Turkmenistan, promoting a "limited ceasefire" that would shelter ports and energy sites from attack.

Kyiv has signaled conditional openness to Turkey’s proposal, with Mr. Zelenskiy saying Ukraine supports a plan tied to energy infrastructure and shipping and is ready for talks. At the same time Ukrainian officials warned of continued Russian aggression, reporting what they described as "massive" strikes on energy facilities overnight that left thousands without power. Russia’s government has claimed it struck Ukrainian infrastructure with hypersonic ballistic missiles in retaliation for Ukrainian actions, an account reported with attribution by international outlets.

Diplomacy is also contending with fundamentally political disagreements. European governments have submitted a territorial proposal to Washington as capitals race to assert influence and shape terms so Kyiv is not forced into concessions it finds unacceptable. Western officials warn the hard work remains in converting broad ideas into acceptable legal texts. One senior Western official summarized a central difficulty as Kyiv and Washington agreeing "on the ultimate price of peace."

Moscow has signaled conditions of its own, with Russian officials quoted in Russian media as saying a ceasefire would be acceptable only after Ukrainian forces withdraw from the front lines. That position underscores the gulf between promises on paper and achievable security guarantees on the ground.

The Berlin meetings over the weekend will therefore be watched not only for any immediate diplomatic breakthroughs but for whether the United States, Turkey and key European powers can present a coherent, enforceable plan that Kyiv will accept. With leaders meeting in Berlin on Monday, the coming 48 hours will decide whether political momentum can be converted into a durable, verifiable arrangement or whether the talks will expose new fractures in the international effort to end the war.