By Friederike Heine
BERLIN, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Germany will host U.S. and Ukrainian delegations over the weekend for talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine, ahead of a summit with European leaders and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Berlin on Monday, a German official said on Saturday.
A U.S. official said overnight that President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were travelling to Germany for talks involving Ukrainians and Europeans.
The choice to send Witkoff, who has led negotiations with Ukraine and Russia regarding a U.S. peace proposal, appeared to be a signal that Washington saw a chance of progress. The White House had said on Thursday Trump would send an official to talks only if he felt there was enough progress to be made.
"Talks on a possible ceasefire in Ukraine are taking place in Berlin this weekend between foreign policy advisors from, among others, the U.S. and Ukraine," said a German government source when asked about the meetings.
On Monday, Merz is hosting Zelenskiy and European leaders for a summit in Berlin, the latest in a series of public shows of support for the Ukrainian leader from allies across Europe as Kyiv faces pressure from Washington to sign up to a peace plan that initially backed Moscow's main demands.
Britain, France and Germany have been working in the last few weeks to refine the U.S. proposals, which, in a draft disclosed last month, called for Kyiv to cede more territory, abandon its ambition to join NATO and accept limits on its armed forces.
(Reporting by Friederike Heine, Steve HollandEditing by Peter Graff)
