There had been “great progress,” said US President Trump after his meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky. He also expressed his praise. Neither gave any details. Trump had previously spoken to Putin on the phone.
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have spoken positively about their talks in Florida. Trump said there had been “great progress” and, in his opinion, we had come much closer to a Russian-Ukrainian agreement.
However, there are still one or two difficult questions. The coming weeks would show whether a solution to end the war in Ukraine could be reached. For his part, Zelensky said he had a great discussion with Trump.
Neither gave any concrete information about progress, for example on the issue of territorial cessions. In detail, they also assessed the current status of the talks differently – for example with regard to security guarantees that are intended to ensure that Russia does not attack Ukraine again after a possible ceasefire. Zelensky said this problem was 100 percent solved, while the US President said it was 95 percent solved.
Europeans were involved
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The delegations from Ukraine and the USA had previously held discussions at Trump’s private estate Mar-a-Lago. According to the US President, European heads of state and government joined in.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen then wrote on the short message service X that good progress had been made with the approximately one-hour switch. Europe is ready to continue working with Ukraine and US partners to consolidate this progress. “Unbreakable security guarantees” are essential from day one.
Reconstruction aid demanded by Russia
Representatives of Russia, which started the war almost four years ago, were not present at the bilateral talks; the USA sees itself as a mediator. But Trump said after the meeting that Russia would help rebuild Ukraine.
There is no statement from the government in Moscow yet. Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev wrote in an initial reaction to the meeting on X: “The whole world appreciates the peace efforts of President Trump and his team.”
Trump: “Seriously peace intentions” also with Putin
Even before the meeting, the US President had said that he was confident that an agreement could be reached to end the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin, like Zelensky, has “serious” peace intentions, Trump said.
Trump emphasized that Ukraine would receive “strong” security guarantees in the event of an agreement on a peace plan, in which the Europeans should also participate.
Zelensky said after the meeting that the negotiating teams of both countries will meet again in the coming weeks to finalize all matters discussed. In January there could be a meeting in Washington with Trump, the Ukrainians and Europeans, he announced
The delegations of Ukraine and the USA at the talks in Mar-a-Lago.
“Productive” phone call with Putin
Trump spoke to Putin on the phone shortly before the meeting with Zelensky. The phone call went “well and very productive,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform. He did not give any further details about the content.
Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said Trump and Putin believe a ceasefire proposed by the EU and Ukraine would prolong the conflict. Both also agree that Ukraine must quickly decide on the Donbass.
The Donbass includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia has power in large parts of it, but also claims the parts of it that it never conquered. According to Ushakov, the phone call was initiated by Trump and lasted about an hour and 15 minutes.
