Trump says the US and Ukraine are ‘very close’ to a peace deal but “obstacles” remain

US President Donald Trump said he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were “very close, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the fate of the Donbas region remains an important unresolved issue.

The two leaders spoke at a joint news conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both leaders reported progress on two of the most contentious issues in the peace talks – security guarantees for Ukraine and the secession of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine that Russia wants to annex.

Both Trump and Zelensky gave few details and did not give a deadline for ending the peace deal, although Trump said it will be clear “in a few weeks” whether the talks to end the war will be successful. He said several “problems” in the area must be resolved.

Zelensky said an agreement was reached on security guarantees in Ukraine. Trump was more cautious, saying they were 95 percent of the way to such an agreement, and he expected European countries to “take a big part” of that effort with U.S. support.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in an X post published after Trump met with Zelensky, said progress had been made on security guarantees. Macron said the countries in the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” will meet in Paris at the beginning of January to complete their “concrete contributions.”

Zelensky has previously said that he hopes to soften the American proposal that the Ukrainian military withdraw completely from the Donbas, a Russian demand that would mean withdrawing some territory held by the Ukrainian military. While Moscow insists on getting all of Donbas, Kyiv wants the map frozen on the current battle lines.

Both Trump and Zelensky said on Sunday that the future of Donbas had not been settled, although the US president said the talks were “going in the right direction.” The United States, seeking compromise, has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the zone, although it is unclear how that zone will work in practice.

“It’s not resolved, but it’s getting very close. That’s a very difficult issue,” Trump said.

And the leaders did not provide much insight into what agreements they reached in providing security for Ukraine after the end of the war, something Zelensky described as “an important step in achieving lasting peace.”

Russia has said that any deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine is unacceptable.

Zelensky said any peace deal would have to be approved by the Ukrainian parliament, or through a referendum. Trump said he would be willing to talk to Congress if that would confirm the deal.

Trump and Putin spoke before Zelenskiy’s meeting

Shortly before Zelensky and his team arrived at Trump’s Florida residence, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in a phone call described as “productive” by the US president and “friendly” by Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.

Ushakov, in Moscow, said Putin told Trump that a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war. The Kremlin aide also said that Ukraine needs to make a decision about the Donbas “without delay.”

Trump said he and Putin spoke for more than two hours. He said the Russian president pledged to help rebuild Ukraine, including providing cheap energy. “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Trump said. “It sounds weird.”

As Trump praised Putin, Zelensky tilted his head and smiled.

Trump said he would call Putin again following the meeting with Zelenskiy.

The Kremlin has expressed support for Trump’s talks.

“The whole world appreciates the efforts of President Trump and his peace team,” Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy, wrote on X on Monday morning after Trump’s talks with Zelenskiy.

The nuclear industry was discussed

US negotiators also proposed joint management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Repairs to power lines have begun there after another denuclearization of the area by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the agency said on Sunday.

The negotiations, Trump said, have made progress in determining the fate of the plant, which “could begin almost immediately.” The US president said it was a “big step” that Russia did not bomb the facility.

Russia controls all of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and since invading Ukraine nearly four years ago has controlled about 12 percent of its territory, including about 90 percent of Donbas, 75 percent of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and the regions of Slivers, Dsprokmy, Dsprork, Dsprokmy, Dsprork, Dsprokmy, Dyskolamy, Kharovka, Dsliver, Dsprokmy, Dysprokmy, Mystery, Dysprokmy, Mystery, Dsprokmy, Mystery, Mystery. Russian ratings.

The day before Zelensky arrived in Florida to meet with Trump, the Russian military 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 described the weekend attack as Russia’s response to US-led peace efforts, but Trump on Sunday said he believed Putin and Zelensky were committed to peace.

After Saturday’s airstrike, Putin said Moscow would continue fighting if Kyiv did not seek immediate peace. Russia has moved slowly on the battlefield in recent months, seeking control of some of the settlements on Sunday.

European heads of state joined at least part of Sunday’s meeting by telephone. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media X that “Europe is ready to continue working with Ukraine and our US partners,” and added that having ironclad security guarantees would be “very important”.

A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said European leaders “underscored the importance of strong security guarantees and reaffirmed the urgency of ending this barbaric war as soon as possible.”