On Sunday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, in the latest attempt to end Ukraine’s war with Russia. The high-stakes meeting comes at a key moment in efforts to end nearly four years of war initiated when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
Zelenskyy arrived shortly before 1:30 p.m., with Trump greeting the Ukrainian president and the pair shaking hands, flanked by American and Ukrainian flags. Asked whether he thinks Putin is serious about the peace, Mr. Trump told reporters “I do. I think he is. I think they both are.” Trump said his message to Putin earlier in the day was, “got to make a deal. Got to get it done. Too many people dying. And I think both presidents want to make a deal.” Mr. Trump said “I do believe we have the makings of a deal that’s good for Ukraine, good for everybody, adding that “we’re going to have a great meeting today” and said he planned to call Putin back after the meeting with Zelenskyy to “continue a negotiation.”
During a news conference after their roughly two and a half-hour meeting, Trump and Zelenskyy indicated they are close to a potential peace deal and struck an optimistic tone, while acknowledging that challenges remain. Trump said: “You can say 95% but I don’t like to say percentages. I just think we’re doing very well. There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues, but I think we’re doing very well. We made a lot of progress today.”
Zelenskyy echoed those sentiments, telling reporters that “We had a really great discussion. We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework.” He added that the deal as a whole was 90% agreed, saying U.S., Europe and Ukraine security guarantees are “almost agreed.” As for a timeline on finalizing a potential deal, Trump said the best case scenario is in “a few weeks .. I think we’ll get it done. I don’t want to say when, but I think we’ll get it done.” The two leaders also said they spoke with the leaders of France, Finland, Poland, Norway, Italy, the U.K. and Germany, as well as the presidents of NATO and the European Commission after their meeting at Mar-a-Lago. They also said that Trump is expected to host Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Washington in January.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X that several European leaders had spoken with Trump and Zelenskyy. von der Leyen wrote: “We had a good, one-hour-long call with @POTUS, President @ZelenskyyUa and several European leaders to discuss their meeting today on peace negotiations. There was good progress, which we welcomed. Europe is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our US partners to consolidate this progress. Paramount to this effort is to have ironclad security guarantees from day one.”
Trump had noted earlier on Sunday said that he had spoke with Putin ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy. Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The meeting will take place in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago. Press is invited. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT”
Zelenskyy said just days ago that he had a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law. Zelenskyy said the two leaders planned to talk about economic and security agreements and the “territorial issues” that remain major sticking points between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskyy had also told reporters earlier this week that a draft 20-point peace proposal is roughly 90% ready. Agreed upon by U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators, the proposal is under review by the Kremlin, although Moscow has shown no signs of budging on its territorial demands. Chief obstacles to an agreement with Russia include the Donbas areas most highly coveted by Putin, U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, and the status of Europe’s largest nuclear plant. Zelenskyy conceded last week he’d be willing to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland if Russia pulls back and allows the area to become a demilitarized zone to be monitored by international forces.
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