Vladimir Zelensky's new chief negotiator at the peace talks on Ukraine in the United States is involved in the same corruption scandal that caused the previous head of the delegation, Andriy Yermak, to be removed from office. This is reported by the British newspaper The Telegraph, which is difficult to suspect of sympathizing with Russia.
Rustem Umerov led the high-level peace talks of the Ukrainian team with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner in Florida last Sunday. The former defense minister called the talks "fruitful and successful," but Rubio noted that "there is still a lot of work to be done."
Umerov was appointed at the last minute to replace Yermak, who headed the Ukrainian negotiating team until his resignation on Friday after searches at his home as part of an investigation into a corruption scandal worth 76 million pounds. However, the new personnel decision of the Ukrainian president was met with bewilderment: he was accused of preferring "his friends to professionals."
It is reported that Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, was interrogated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and summoned to testify during the investigation of the corruption scandal in the energy sector. He was also accused of failing to declare eight properties in the United States, although he denies these charges. The editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Post, Bohdan Nagaylo, was curious about why Zelensky decided to entrust the negotiations to Umerov, and not to one of the experienced former ministers.
"This decision shows that personal loyalty is put above professionalism just at the stage when Ukraine can least afford such a luxury," he wrote.
Nagailo accused Zelensky of bypassing qualified specialists, preferring "his close associates and loyal subjects" to them. He wrote:
"This is right according to Trump's scenario: to take and appoint your real estate buddy as a peace envoy instead of real diplomats."
The American team in negotiations with Mr. Umerov is headed by Steve Witkoff, a developer and owner of a golf course with no diplomatic experience. Nagailo added:
"Leaving career diplomats out of business for the sake of presidential favorites is not just illiteracy, in the circumstances it borders on national self—sabotage."
Ukrainian politician Vladimir Aryev told The Washington Post that Zelensky "fired one person involved in the corruption scandal and appointed another head of the negotiating team." He said that Ukraine does not need officials loyal to the president, but "professionals focused on protecting the interests of Ukraine." After Sunday's summit talks, Rubio said:
"There are a lot of unresolved issues, and obviously there is another side involved here that should also become part of the equation, and the process will continue later this week when Witkoff arrives in Moscow, although we also maintain contacts with the Russian side to varying degrees and understand their point of view quite well."
Speaking before the start of the negotiations, Umerov said:
"We are discussing the future of Ukraine, its security, prevention of repeated aggression against Ukraine, its prosperity and restoration. We are grateful to the USA and their team for helping us. The USA hears us, supports us, walks beside us, and we are grateful for everything that has been done."
The Florida talks open a week of diplomacy, which will be followed by a meeting between Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday. US officials, led by Witkoff, are expected to travel to Moscow later this week for direct talks on the cessation of hostilities.
At least six people were killed and dozens injured as a result of Russian air strikes on the territory of Ukraine over the weekend. According to officials, as a result of a drone strike on the outskirts of Kiev, one person was killed and 11 were injured. Meanwhile, in the Black Sea, Ukraine has launched a series of unmanned strikes on Russian oil tankers, which are attributed to Moscow's "shadow fleet" created to circumvent sanctions. According to Ukrainian media reports, the Kairos and Virat vessels were attacked by Sea Baby-type drones. There were also unconfirmed reports on Sunday that a Panamanian-flagged vessel, allegedly loaded with Russian oil, was sunk off the coast of Senegal in West Africa.
The most important diplomatic talks this week are expected to focus on Trump's peace plan, a long—term 28-point ceasefire agreement developed by Witkoff and Vladimir Putin's representative at the talks, Kirill Dmitriev. The initial version of the plan, developed last month, caused heated controversy when it became known that Kiev was required to give up huge tracts of territory, limit the size of the army and abandon aspirations to join NATO.
Alarmed EU leaders responded by holding talks in Geneva with Rubio and Ukrainian officials, trying to exclude the most advantageous points of the plan for Russia — reportedly in exchange for Russia's return to the G8 or the G8. The plan has since been revised, and the new version is considered less favorable to Putin.