Trump says Ukraine peace talks ‘very close’ as Donbas remains sticking point
MAR-A-LAGO, Fla. — President Donald Trump said he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to a framework to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging the fate of the disputed Donbas region remains a key unresolved issue.
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Speaking at a joint news conference after talks at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, both leaders reported progress on two of the most contentious items in negotiations — long-term security guarantees for Ukraine and the future of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas, which Russia has sought to capture.
Zelensky said an agreement on security guarantees has been reached. Trump was more circumspect, saying negotiators are “95%” of the way there and signaling that European allies would “take over a big part” of providing those assurances with U.S. backing. French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that progress had been made and said countries in a “Coalition of the Willing” would meet in Paris in early January to finalize “concrete contributions.”
Trump and Zelensky offered few specifics and set no deadline for a peace deal, though Trump said it should be clear “in a few weeks” whether the talks will succeed.
On Donbas, where Moscow insists on full control and Kyiv wants to freeze the map at current battle lines, Trump said discussions are “moving in the right direction” but not settled. Zelensky has previously said he hopes to soften a U.S. proposal that would see Ukrainian forces withdraw entirely from Donbas. U.S. negotiators have floated the creation of a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area, though how such an arrangement would function remains unclear.
Both leaders said the security architecture that would protect Ukraine after the war is critical but did not detail enforcement or triggers. Zelensky called those guarantees “the key milestone in achieving a lasting peace,” and said any agreement would need approval by Ukraine’s parliament or a referendum. Trump said he would be willing to address parliament if it would help seal the deal.
The Florida meeting followed a more than two-hour call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Trump described as “productive” and Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov called “friendly.” Ushakov said Putin told Trump a 60-day cease-fire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war, and urged a swift decision on Donbas. Trump said Putin pledged to help rebuild Ukraine, including by supplying cheap energy. “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Trump said, calling it “a little strange.” He said he would call Putin again after the talks with Zelensky.
Russia’s government signaled support for Trump’s mediation. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy, posted on X that “the whole world appreciates President Trump and his team’s peace efforts.”
Negotiators have also discussed shared control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Trump said, adding that repairs to power lines have begun following a local cease-fire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency. He said agreement on the plant’s status is advancing and that it could “start up almost immediately,” calling it “a big step” that Russia had not struck the facility.
Russia controls Crimea, annexed in 2014, and since its full-scale invasion has taken about 12% of Ukrainian territory, including roughly 90% of Donbas, 75% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and smaller areas in Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk, according to Russian estimates.
On the eve of Zelensky’s arrival in Florida, Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Kyiv and other areas, knocking out power and heat in parts of the capital. Zelensky said the strikes were Moscow’s response to U.S.-brokered peace efforts. Putin warned Russia would continue the war if Kyiv did not seek a quick peace, as Russian forces claimed new advances on the battlefield in recent months.
European leaders joined part of the Florida talks by phone. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that Europe “is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our U.S. partners,” stressing that “ironclad security guarantees” will be “of paramount importance.” A spokesman for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said European leaders emphasized robust guarantees and “the urgency of ending this barbaric war as soon as possible.”
Despite the guarded optimism, both Trump and Zelensky cautioned that one or two “thorny issues” remain. “It’s unresolved, but it’s getting a lot closer,” Trump said of Donbas. “That’s a very tough issue.”
Neither side offered a timeline, but Trump said the coming weeks should determine whether the Ukraine peace negotiations can bridge the final gaps.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
