Umerov held closed-door meetings with FBI leadership - The Washington Post
Kyiv • UNN
Rustem Umerov held closed-door meetings with FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino during a visit to Miami, raising concerns among Western officials. Ukraine's ambassador to Washington confirmed the meeting, noting that national security issues were discussed.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov held a series of closed meetings with FBI leadership during his visit to Miami, which caused uncertainty in the process of ending Russia's war against Ukraine. This is reported by The Washington Post with reference to sources, transmits UNN.
Details
According to the publication, in recent weeks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, flew to Miami three times to meet with President Donald Trump's chief envoy, Steve Witkoff, to discuss a proposal to end the nearly four-year conflict with Russia.
But during his stay in the US, Umerov also held closed meetings with FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino
It is emphasized that these meetings caused concern among Western officials, who still do not know their intentions and purpose. Some believe that Umerov and other Ukrainian officials turned to Patel and Bongino in the hope of obtaining amnesty from any corruption charges that Ukrainians may face.
Others fear that the newly created channel could be used to pressure the Zelenskyy government to agree to a peace deal proposed by the Trump administration, which contains significant concessions for Kyiv.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova, confirmed Umerov's meeting with the FBI and told The Washington Post that he "only covered issues related to national security" that could not be disclosed publicly.
An FBI official stated that during the meetings with Umerov, common law enforcement and national security interests of the two countries were discussed. According to the official, the topic of corruption in Ukraine was raised at one of the meetings, but was not the main topic. Any suggestions that Patel's discussions were inappropriate are "complete nonsense."
Recall
Ukraine managed to ensure that a controversial amnesty clause, which caused the most concern about justice and Russia's accountability, was removed from the peace plan proposed by the United States.