Trump, Zelensky say Ukraine peace deal edging closer but key issues unresolved

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, though both leaders acknowledged that some of the thorniest details remain unresolved.

The two leaders spoke at a joint press conference late on Sunday afternoon after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trump said it would be clear “in a few weeks” whether negotiations to end the war would succeed.

Zelensky said an agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine had been reached. Trump was slightly more cautious, saying they were 95% of the way to such an agreement and that he expected European countries to “take over a big part” of that effort with US backing.

Zelensky has said previously that he hopes to soften a US proposal for Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, a Russian demand that would mean ceding some territory held by Ukrainian forces.

Both Trump and Zelensky said on Sunday that the future of the Donbas had not been settled. “It’s unresolved, but it’s getting a lot closer. That’s a very tough issue,” Trump said.

Just before Zelensky and his delegation arrived at Trump’s Florida residence, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in a call described as “productive” by the US president and “friendly” by Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.

Ushakov, speaking in Moscow, said Putin told Trump that a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war. The Kremlin aide also said Ukraine needed to make a decision regarding the Donbas “without further delay”, and that Russia had agreed to establish working groups to resolve the conflict, focusing on economic and security concerns.

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Meeting follows Russian attacks on Kyiv

Zelensky arrived at Mar-a-Lago early on Sunday afternoon as Russian air raids piled pressure on Kyiv. Russia hit the capital and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, knocking out power and heat in parts of the city.

Zelensky has described the weekend attacks as Russia’s response to US-brokered peace efforts, but Trump said on Sunday that he believes both Putin and Zelensky are serious about peace.

The US president said he would call Putin again after meeting with Zelensky. Zelensky had previously told journalists he planned to discuss the fate of the contested Donbas region with Trump, as well as the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and other issues.

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Russia claims more battlefield advances

Putin said on Saturday that Moscow would continue waging its war if Kyiv did not seek a quick peace. Russia has steadily advanced on the battlefield in recent months, claiming control over several more settlements on Sunday.

While Kyiv and Washington have agreed on many issues, the question of what territory, if any, will be ceded to Russia remains unresolved. Moscow insists on gaining all of the Donbas, while Kyiv wants the map frozen along current battle lines.

The US, seeking a compromise, has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area, though it remains unclear how such a zone would function in practice.

US negotiators have also proposed shared control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Power line repairs have begun there after another local ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the agency said on Sunday.

Russia controls all of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and since its invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago has taken control of about 12% of Ukrainian territory, including about 90% of the Donbas, 75% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and smaller parts of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Russian estimates.

Putin said on December 19 that any peace deal should be based on conditions he set out in 2024, including Ukraine withdrawing from the Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and Kyiv officially renouncing its aim of joining NATO.

Zelensky’s past encounters with Trump have not always gone smoothly, but Sunday’s meeting followed weeks of diplomatic efforts. European allies, while at times cut out of the loop, have stepped up efforts to outline post-war security guarantees for Kyiv with US support.

Ahead of the Mar-a-Lago visit, Zelensky said he held a detailed phone call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Trump said he and Zelensky would also hold a call with European leaders during the Florida meeting.

A 20-point plan emerged from subsequent talks between Ukrainian officials and US negotiators, spun off from a Russian-led 28-point proposal that became public in November following discussions involving US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)