Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky said progress had been made in ending the war in Ukraine during talks in Florida, but the US president admitted the territory issue remains “unresolved”.
While the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents called the talks “excellent,” Trump said “one or two very pressing issues” remain unresolved, most notably the land issue.
Addressing reporters at Mar-a-Lago, Zelensky said they had reached agreement on “90%” of the 20-point peace plan, while Trump said security guarantees for Ukraine were “almost 95% complete.”
Zelensky later said the U.S. and Ukrainian teams would meet next week for further talks on issues aimed at ending Russia's nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
“We had a substantive conversation on all issues and highly appreciate the progress that the Ukrainian and American teams have achieved in recent weeks,” Zelensky said in a statement on the Telegram messenger.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukraine's territory.
A proposal to turn Donbass in eastern Ukraine, which is largely controlled by Russia, into a demilitarized zone remains “unresolved,” Trump said.
“Part of this land has been captured,” he told reporters after the meeting. “Some of this land may be up for grabs, but it could be grabbed over the next period of several months.”
Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region and about 99% of the neighboring Luhansk region. These regions are collectively known as Donbass.
Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw from the small part of territory it still controls in the Donbass, while Kyiv insists the area could become a free economic zone controlled by Ukrainian forces.
The US president has repeatedly changed his position on the territories lost to Ukraine, and in September stunned observers by suggesting that Ukraine could take them back. He later changed course.
“[That] “This is a very complex problem,” he said. “The one that will be decided.”
Security guarantees for Ukraine are “95% complete,” Trump said, with no formal commitments for logistical support or troop deployments to help defend Ukraine from future attacks.
Trump raised the possibility of trilateral negotiations between the United States, Russia and Ukraine, saying it could happen “at the right time.”
While the US president is keen to add the Ukraine-Russia war to the list of conflicts he says are over, he warned that stalled or collapsed negotiations that are going “really poorly” could mean the war continues.
Earlier, Trump had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Although the US president did not reveal details of the telephone conversation, he said that, in his opinion, the Russian leader “wants Ukraine to succeed.”
At the same time, Trump admitted that Moscow has little interest in a ceasefire that would allow Ukraine to hold a referendum.
“I understand this position,” he added.
Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said the call was initiated by Trump and that he and Putin discussed the latest proposals from the EU and Ukraine to end the war.
Ushakov, a former Russian ambassador to the United States, said Trump listened to the Kremlin's assessment of the proposals, and the two presidents emerged from the draft united in their belief that a temporary ceasefire offered by the EU and Ukraine would instead prolong the conflict.
Zelensky suggested that Ukrainian officials could meet at the White House in January, perhaps along with European leaders, when the US and Ukrainian delegations finalize plans for further negotiations.
In a phone call with European allies after the meeting, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the “good progress” at the Florida talks while stressing the need for Ukraine to receive “cast-iron security guarantees from day one.”
