Mr. Trump declared that Washington and Kiev are "very close, even very close" to an agreement to end the Ukraine conflict, after a direct meeting with Mr. Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago resort, Florida, USA.
The meeting took place in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict continuing to escalate. A day earlier, Russia launched a series of large-scale airstrikes with missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles targeting Kiev and many other areas, causing a part of the Ukrainian capital to lose power and heat.
On the afternoon of December 28, after a closed-door exchange, Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky appeared at a joint press conference. The US President said it would be clear "in the next few weeks" whether the negotiation process would succeed or not. He affirmed that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky are "serious about peace".
Regarding ensuring security for Ukraine after the conflict, Mr. Zelensky said that the two sides have reached a consensus. Mr. Trump appeared more cautious, saying that the parties have reached "about 95% of the way" and expects European countries to "take on a large part" of this responsibility, with US support.
Donbass Button
However, both leaders acknowledged that the most thorny details, especially the territorial issue in Donbass, eastern Ukraine - have not yet been resolved.
Previously, Kiev expressed its desire to "soften" the proposal of the US side regarding the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from this area - which has been a long-standing request of Russia.
On December 28, both Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky confirmed that the Donbass issue has not yet been resolved. "Not yet resolved, but very close. This is an extremely difficult issue" - Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump phones Mr. Putin
A notable development is that right before the Ukrainian delegation arrived in Mar-a-Lago, President Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Trump described the call as "effective", while Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov called the phone call "friendly".
According to Mr. Ushakov, President Putin believes that the 60-day ceasefire proposal made by the EU and Ukraine will only prolong the conflict, and emphasized that Kiev needs to make a decision on Donbass soon. Russia also agreed to establish working groups focused on economic and security issues to resolve the conflict.
After meeting with Mr. Zelensky, the US President said he would continue to call Mr. Putin back.
Controlling nuclear power plants
Ukraine said that in addition to Donbass, the two sides also discussed the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and other key security topics.
The US is said to have proposed a plan to jointly control this plant; power line repairs here have just resumed after a local ceasefire agreement mediated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
While diplomacy is accelerating, Moscow declares it continues to make further progress on the battlefield. Russia currently controls all of Crimea, about 90% of Donbass and most of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson regions, and some other areas, according to estimates from Russia.
President Putin affirmed that a peace agreement must be based on the conditions he set out from 2024, including Ukraine withdrawing from these regions and abandoning its goal of joining NATO.
Although previous meetings between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky were sometimes tense, this meeting took place after many weeks of shuttle diplomacy.
European allies are also strengthening coordination to outline a post-conflict security mechanism for Kiev.
Before the trip to Florida, Mr. Zelensky had a phone call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and is expected to exchange with Mr. Trump with European leaders in the near future.
