President Trump says a Ukraine peace deal is closer than ever but reports no breakthrough on territory after talks with Zelensky and Putin
PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump said a deal was closer than ever to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but reported no apparent breakthrough on the flashpoint issue of territory.
He made the remarks after new talks with the leaders of the warring countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump, who had promised a peace deal on day one of his presidency, said it would become clear within weeks whether it was possible to end the war that has killed tens of thousands.
“I really believe we’re, Mr. President, probably closer than — far closer than — ever before with both parties,” Trump said with Zelensky at his side at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump acknowledged continued disagreement between Kyiv and Moscow on territory, calling it a “very tough issue.”
The current US plan would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and set up a demilitarized area.
Russia has long demanded territorial concessions from Ukraine.
Zelensky has voiced an openness to the revised US plan, marking Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions.
He said the peace framework laid out by Trump was “90% agreed” and that “US-Ukraine security guarantees: 100% agreed.”
By contrast, Russia has shown no signs of compromise, as it sees hope in the grinding gains it has made over four years.
The Kremlin called on Kyiv to make a “brave decision” and immediately withdraw troops from Donbas.
It cast European leaders as the impediment to peace in its readout of talks between Putin and Trump.
“Russia and the United States share the same position which is that the Ukrainian and European proposal for a temporary ceasefire (…) would only prolong the conflict,” said the Kremlin’s diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov.
In a pre-New Year’s diplomatic sprint, Trump brought Zelensky to Florida a day after Russia unleashed major new attacks on residential areas of the capital Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president stayed studiously polite throughout his visit, mindful of his disastrous White House meeting where Trump publicly berated him.
After their talks, Zelensky and Trump spoke jointly by telephone with key European leaders, who have been particularly alarmed about any decisions that would embolden Russia.
Zelensky said that he and European leaders could return jointly for talks with Trump in Washington in January.
