Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, and Jared Kushner attend a meeting with Ukrainian officials on Sunday in Hallandale Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — U.S. and Ukrainian officials completed roughly four hours of talks Sunday aimed at finding an endgame to the war between Russia and Ukraine, just days before a U.S. envoy is due in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters afterward that the session with the Ukrainian team in Florida was productive but work remains in the search for a peace deal.

“It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting,” Rubio said. “It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity. … I think we built on that today, but there’s more work to be done.”

President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet with Putin in Moscow in the next few days.

Rubio, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, represented the American side in the high-level talks, held at a sensitive time as Ukraine continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022 while dealing with a corruption scandal.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was briefed by them and that “Ukraine’s got some difficult little problems,” referring to the corruption scandal, which he said was “not helpful.” The president added that “there’s a good chance we can make a deal.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ‘s government has been roiled by fallout from a scandal over $100 million embezzled from the energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors, causing newfound domestic pressures for Zelenskyy.

Diplomats have focused on revisions to a proposed U.S.-authored plan that was developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow. That plan has been criticized as being too weighted toward Russian demands. As the meeting began Sunday, Rubio focused on reassuring Ukraine.

As the teams sat down at the Shell Bay Club, a golf and racket club developed by Witkoff in Hallandale Beach, Rubio said the goal goes beyond peace to “securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity at real prosperity.”

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s security council, responded to Rubio by expressing his country’s appreciation for U.S. efforts, a message geared toward Trump, who has at times claimed that Ukraine has not been sufficiently grateful for U.S. assistance during the war.

“U.S. is hearing us,” Umerov said before the meeting. “U.S. is supporting us. U.S. is working beside us.”

Umerov, who appeared with Rubio to deliver a brief statement to reporters after the talks, underscored Ukraine’s gratitude for U.S. support during nearly four-year war. But he offered no hints about what, if any, progress was made during the talks.