Trump says Ukraine deal closer but no breakthrough after Zelensky meeting

PALM BEACH, Florida – US President Donald Trump said he made “a lot of progress” in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
over a possible peace deal, but that it might take a few weeks to get it done and there was no set timeline.

The pair met at the US President’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Dec 28, where they had lunch and later spoke on the phone with a group of European leaders to brief them on their progress.

The tone of their news conference after the meeting was warm, even as it became clear that Mr Trump was not much closer to his goal of ending the war that began with Russia’s invasion in 2022. 

“We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that it was “90 per cent agreed”.

“US-Ukraine security guarantees – 100 per cent agreed. US, Europe, Ukraine security guarantees – almost agreed. Military dimension – 100 per cent agreed. Prosperity plan being finalised,” he said.

Among the major sticking points left to be resolved: the future of Ukraine’s Donbas region, which is partially occupied by Russian forces. Mr Trump told reporters the issue was still unresolved, but “getting a lot closer”.

Mr Trump said he would be willing to speak to Ukraine’s Parliament if that would help cement a deal. He also said he could envision a trilateral meeting with Mr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I see that happening sure, at the right time,” Mr Trump said.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Trump said he held a “good and very productive” phone call
with Mr Putin and that he planned to speak with him again after meeting Mr Zelensky. 

The US President said he was aiming to convene a meeting with Mr Zelensky and European leaders in January. Mr Zelensky wrote later in a post on social media platform X that the meeting would take place in Washington.

On Dec 28, Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky spoke on the phone with a group of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“We agree that security guarantees are a key milestone in achieving lasting peace, and our teams will continue working on all aspects,” Mr Zelensky said.

Mr Trump said Europe would take over a big part of the security guarantees for Ukraine.

“You know, they’re right there, but we’re going to help Europe 100 per cent, like they’d help us,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader went into the meeting saying he aimed to resolve key outstanding issues, including the status of territories in the east of Ukraine, future security guarantees and the fate of a nuclear power plant occupied by Russia. 

After nearly a year of US efforts to end the war failed to yield a deal, Mr Trump had said he would meet the Ukrainian and Russian leaders again only if an agreement were imminent. So far, the warring sides have been negotiating mainly with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Mr Putin has continued to press his demands, including for Ukraine to cede territories in the country’s east that Moscow’s troops have failed to capture in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. This is even as more than 1.1 million Russian troops have been killed and wounded, by Western estimates, since Mr Putin ordered the full-scale invasion, which is nearing its fifth year, and Russia’s economy faces increasing strain from unprecedented sanctions.  

Mr Trump has ramped up pressure on Ukraine to make concessions and dangled promises of economic cooperation at Russia. While Mr Zelensky has repeatedly declared his readiness for a ceasefire to allow space for peace negotiations, Mr Putin has refused Mr Trump’s calls for a truce without first having reached agreement on a deal.   

“The presidents of Russia and the US generally share similar views that the option proposed by the Ukrainians and Europeans for a temporary ceasefire – supposedly to prepare for a referendum or under other pretexts – only leads to prolonging the conflict,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Dec 28 while describing Mr Putin’s call with Mr Trump in an audio post on Telegram.

On Dec 27, Moscow launched a massive air strike
involving more than 500 drones and 40 missiles targeting Kyiv and the country’s key energy facilities – a day after a Russian official accused Ukraine and its European allies of seeking to sabotage an agreement. 

“Russians are pursuing a campaign built on instilling exhaustion, cold and fear,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said on Telegram about the barrage, which killed one person and left about a third of Kyiv’s more than three million residents without heating. 

Ukrainian officials have toiled over the last few weeks to revise a 28-point draft plan originally proposed by the US but seen as overly favourable to Russia. The latest version has 20 points, but Moscow has warned that the plan includes elements it will not accept, including on the size of Ukraine’s post-war military.

Russia also wants guarantees against future eastward expansion by the NATO military alliance and on Ukraine’s neutral status if it joins the European Union, as well as clarity on the issue of removing sanctions and on hundreds of billions of dollars of Moscow’s frozen state assets in the West, according to a person close to the Kremlin. 

Russia wants Ukraine to give up a fortress belt of territory in the eastern Donetsk region that Moscow has failed to take by force. Mr Zelensky rejects that demand though he has said he is ready to agree to a demilitarised zone in the area provided Russia also pulled back its forces, something Moscow is unlikely to accept.

Ukraine has pushed for binding guarantees of US protection in the event Russia attacks again, even as Mr Trump has said the country will not be allowed to join NATO.

Mr Zelensky said on Dec 26 he wanted to discuss with Mr Trump how the US could apply more pressure to Russia if Mr Putin does not agree to sign the peace deal.

Another key sticking point has been the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently occupied by Russia. Mr Zelensky said last week that Washington was pressing for the facility to be jointly owned by all three sides, while Ukraine is offering to share the plant only with the US. BLOOMBERG