{"id":375243,"date":"2025-12-29T03:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T03:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/375243\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T03:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T03:41:11","slug":"us-and-ukraine-a-lot-closer-on-peace-deal-trump-says-after-meeting-with-zelensky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/375243\/","title":{"rendered":"US and Ukraine ‘a lot closer’ on peace deal, Trump says after meeting with Zelensky"},"content":{"rendered":"

PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) \u2014 US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were \u201cgetting a lot closer, maybe very close\u201d to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the fate of the disputed Donbas region remains a key unresolved issue.<\/p>\n

The two leaders spoke at a joint news conference after meeting at Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday afternoon. Both leaders reported progress on two of the most contentious issues in peace talks \u2014 security guarantees for Ukraine and the division of eastern Ukraine\u2019s Donbas region that Russia has sought to capture.<\/p>\n

Both Trump and Zelensky offered few details and did not provide a deadline for completing a peace deal, although Trump said it would be clear \u201cin a few weeks\u201d whether negotiations to end the war would succeed. He said a few \u201cthorny issues\u201d around territory must be resolved.<\/p>\n

Zelensky said an agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine has been reached. Trump was slightly more cautious, saying that they were 95% of the way to such an agreement, and that he expected European countries to \u201ctake over a big part\u201d of that effort with US backing.<\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel Macron, in an X post published after Trump met with Zelensky, said progress was made on security guarantees. Macron said countries in the so-called \u201cCoalition of the Willing\u201d would meet in Paris in early January to finali\u05d6e their \u201cconcrete contributions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Zelensky has said previously that he hopes to soften a US proposal for Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from Donbas, a Russian demand that would mean ceding some territory held by Ukrainian forces. While Moscow insists on getting all of Donbas, Kyiv wants the map frozen at the current battle lines.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a press conference following talks at Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 28, 2025. (Jim WATSON \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Both Trump and Zelensky said on Sunday the future of the Donbas had not been settled, though the US president said discussions are \u201cmoving in the right direction.\u201d The United States, seeking a compromise, has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area, although it remains unclear how that zone would function in practical terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unresolved, but it\u2019s getting a lot closer. That\u2019s a very tough issue,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

Nor did the leaders offer much insight into what agreements they had reached on providing security for Ukraine after the war ends, something Zelensky described Sunday as \u201cthe key milestone in achieving a lasting peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zelensky said any peace agreement would have to be approved by Ukraine\u2019s parliament, or by a referendum. Trump said he would be willing to speak to parliament if that would secure the deal.<\/p>\n

Trump and Putin speak before Zelensky meeting<\/p>\n

Shortly before Zelensky and his delegation arrived at Trump\u2019s Florida residence, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in a call described as \u201cproductive\u201d by the US president and \u201cfriendly\u201d by Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.<\/p>\n

Ushakov, in Moscow, said Putin told Trump a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war. The Kremlin aide also said Ukraine needs to make a decision regarding the Donbas \u201cwithout further delay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThis handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on December 28, 2025 shows US President Donald Trump (5th R) meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (4th L) for critical talks on ending the war with Russia at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. (Handout \/ UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Trump said he and Putin spoke for more than two hours. He said the Russian president pledged to help rebuild Ukraine, including by supplying cheap energy. \u201cRussia wants to see Ukraine succeed,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIt sounds a little strange.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Trump praised Putin, Zelensky tilted his head and smiled. Trump said he would call Putin again following the meeting with Zelensky.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin expressed support for Trump\u2019s negotiations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole world appreciates President Trump and his team\u2019s peace efforts,\u201d Kirill Dmitriev, Putin\u2019s special envoy, posted on X early on Monday after Trump\u2019s talks with Zelensky.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIn this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videolink in Moscow on December 26, 2025. (Mikhail METZEL \/ POOL \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Nuclear plant discussed<\/p>\n

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

Negotiators, Trump said, have made progress on deciding the fate of the plant, which can \u201cstart up almost immediately.\u201d The US president said \u201cit\u2019s a big step\u201d that Russia had not bombed the facility.<\/p>\n

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 its territory, including about 90% of the Donbas, 75% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Russian estimates.<\/p>\n

The day before Zelensky arrived in Florida to meet with Trump, Russian forces attacked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones, knocking out power and heat in parts of the Ukrainian capital. Zelensky has described the weekend attacks as Russia\u2019s response to the US-brokered peace efforts, but Trump on Sunday said he believes Putin and Zelensky are serious about peace.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump welcomes Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 28, 2025. (Jim WATSON \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

After Saturday\u2019s air attacks,\u00a0Putin said\u00a0Moscow would continue waging its war\u00a0if 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.<\/p>\n

European heads of state joined at least part of Sunday\u2019s meeting by phone. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said\u00a0on social media\u00a0site X that \u201cEurope is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our US partners,\u201d and added that having ironclad security guarantees will be of \u201cparamount\u201d importance.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said European leaders \u201cunderlined the importance of robust security guarantees and reaffirmed the urgency of ending this barbaric war as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n


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