Ukrainian and U.S. delegations held bilateral peace talks in Miami, Florida on Saturday, March 21, as part of ongoing mediation efforts to end Russia's four-year war against Ukraine. The Ukrainian side was led by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, alongside Presidential Office Head Kyrylo Budanov, First Deputy Presidential Office Head Serhiy Kyslytsia, and parliamentary faction leader Davyd Arakhamiia — the Servant of the People party leader in the Rada. The U.S. delegation was led by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law. Fox News reported on Witkoff's previous Miami talks with a Russian envoy, calling them "productive and constructive," and PBS NewsHour confirmed the March 21 bilateral format and the agenda.

Witkoff said the meetings were "constructive" and described them as "part of ongoing mediation efforts, with discussions focused on narrowing and resolving remaining items to move closer to a comprehensive peace agreement," without disclosing specific details. President Zelenskyy confirmed the talks in a post on social media: "Today, our team met with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the United States. This is important for the whole world: diplomacy continues, and we are working to end Russia's war against Ukraine." Talks were scheduled to continue on March 22.

Russia did not participate in the Miami talks on March 21, a change from original plans — the Kyiv Independent reported that Russian representatives had originally been expected to attend negotiations that were due to take place in Abu Dhabi before the format shifted to a bilateral U.S.-Ukraine meeting in Miami. Ukraine's primary goals for the bilateral, according to Ukrainska Pravda, included agreeing on a specific date for the next trilateral meeting involving Russia, addressing Ukraine's concerns about the U.S. decision to partially suspend sanctions on Russian energy, and finalizing documents on security guarantees and post-war recovery financing.

PBS NewsHour and Al Jazeera noted that despite months of U.S.-led diplomacy, "progress on key negotiating points has all but stalled in recent weeks amid the war in Iran." The Iran conflict has complicated the peace architecture by consuming U.S. diplomatic bandwidth, creating a new energy crisis that has shifted Washington's immediate foreign policy priorities. Kyiv has expressed frustration that American attention has pivoted toward the Iran war just as Ukraine-Russia talks were gaining traction. Fox News and conservative commentators framed the Miami talks as evidence that Trump's personal dealmaking approach to foreign policy is maintaining diplomatic momentum even as the Iran war rages, noting that the administration has kept Ukraine at the table and Zelenskyy publicly engaged.