Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump held talks at the Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The meeting began at 9:00 p.m. Moscow time on December 27 and lasted for more than two hours, followed by a video conference with European leaders.
After the talks, Trump described the meeting as “wonderful” and said there had been substantial progress in discussions on a peace settlement. According to him, the sides were nearly 95% aligned on security guarantees, while one or two issues remain unresolved, including Donbas. He also said territorial disagreements could be addressed through a referendum or parliamentary approval.
Zelensky also gave the talks a positive assessment and said that more than 90% of the peace plan had been agreed. According to him, the military component of the arrangements has been fully settled, while security guarantees in a US-Europe-Ukraine format are close to completion. At the same time, he stressed that Kyiv’s position on Donbas remains unchanged and must take Ukrainian law and public opinion into account.
Before the meeting, Trump held a phone call with Vladimir Putin. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said the conversation lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes and included discussion of a temporary ceasefire proposal, which Moscow believes would only prolong the conflict. According to Ushakov, Putin and Trump share a broadly similar view of that scenario.
On the eve of the talks, Zelensky was in Canada, where he discussed documents for the upcoming US meeting with European allies. The conversation included Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, and Canada. Sources cited by the Financial Times say Kyiv is insisting on firm security guarantees, international control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and greater US pressure on Russia.
Russia, meanwhile, has signaled that it is not prepared to support amendments to the original plan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine was not showing readiness for constructive negotiations and claimed that Europe had become the main obstacle to peace.