The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky ended at the Mar-a-Lago (Florida) residence without a significant breakthrough. Negotiations among politicians in Palm Beach on Sunday, December 28, lasted more than two and a half hours. This is the fourth meeting of the leaders since the beginning of the year.
Speaking about when a peace deal might be reached, Trump said at a joint news conference: “If everything goes really well, it might be a few weeks. If it goes worse, it will take longer. And if it goes really bad, it won’t work.”
The American leader called the fighting in Ukraine the deadliest and probably the largest conflict since World War II.
Zelensky: US-Ukraine security guarantees are 100 percent agreed upon
Table of Contents
- Zelensky: US-Ukraine security guarantees are 100 percent agreed upon
- Trump: The issue of territories in Donbass has not been resolved
- The US President discussed the status of the Zaporizhia NPP with Putin
- Head of the White House: Moscow is going to help in the restoration of Ukraine
- Conversations with European leaders and Putin
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, in turn, expressed confidence that the 20-point peace plan has been agreed upon by 90 percent, and the US-Ukraine security guarantees by 100 percent. Security guarantees between the USA, Europe and Ukraine have also been practically worked out, the Ukrainian leader added.
According to Trump, Europe will take on a significant part of the tasks related to ensuring the security of Kyiv, but the United States is ready to provide support in this matter.
According to Zelensky, the teams of the two countries will meet in the coming weeks to finalize the discussion of controversial issues. European leaders and the Ukrainian delegation may arrive in Washington in January, he indicated.
Trump: The issue of territories in Donbass has not been resolved
The parties cannot yet come to unity on the issue of territories in Donbass. The head of the White House noted that Ukraine and Russia are “getting closer” to resolving their status, but the task remains difficult. “This issue has not been resolved, but we are much closer to a solution. This is a very difficult issue, but I think that it will be resolved,” the head of the American state emphasized.
Zelensky, in turn, also allowed a referendum to be held on certain points of Trump’s peace plan.
The US President discussed the status of the Zaporizhia NPP with Putin
Speaking about the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the American leader clarified that he discussed its status in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he is “working with Ukraine to open it.” Trump also claimed that the Russian head of state was not targeting missiles at the station. Zelensky did not comment on this aspect.
Head of the White House: Moscow is going to help in the restoration of Ukraine
According to Trump, Moscow is going to help in the restoration of Ukraine. “Russia wants to see Ukraine successful,” the US president said, adding that Putin is ready to “supply electricity at very low prices.”
Conversations with European leaders and Putin
The American and Ukrainian presidents held a joint telephone conversation with European leaders before the start of the negotiations. In addition, Trump spoke by phone with Putin before communicating with Zelensky. Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Yuri Ushakov said that the conversation took place at Trump’s initiative and lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Putin stated the importance of continuing to focus on the results achieved during the summit in Anchorage, Ushakov further indicated. According to him, the Russian President also agreed with Trump’s proposal to continue work on the settlement within the framework of specially created working groups, their parameters will become known in early January.