WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, that the two sides are “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to a peace deal to end the Ukraine crisis after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
However, there was little sign that a major breakthrough had emerged, though Trump described the talks as “excellent,” with “a lot of progress” made.
“This is not a one-day process deal. This is very complicated stuff,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Zelensky after the meeting, where the two leaders also spoke with European leaders.
“In a few weeks, we will know one way or the other, I think,” Trump said. “It’s been a very difficult negotiation.”
Thorny issues
It is widely believed that thorny issues include a potential timetable for a ceasefire, the establishment of a proposed demilitarized zone, the management of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and control of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
“We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework,” Zelensky said of his meeting with Trump, noting that the 20-point peace plan was “90 percent” complete — the same figure he cited earlier this month.
On security guarantees for Ukraine, Zelensky said the United States, Ukraine and Europe have almost fully agreed.
Trump said he does not like to use percentages but said he thinks the talks are “close to 95 percent” on the security issue.
“We could be very close. There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues, but I think we’re doing very well,” Trump said. Both leaders declined to specify the issues.
During the meeting, Trump and Zelensky spoke with European leaders, including officials from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. Zelensky said Trump may meet with him and European leaders in Washington in January, adding that they “agreed that our teams will meet in the coming weeks to finalize all discussed matters.”
Phone call with Putin
Ahead of his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said he had “a good and very productive telephone call” with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday morning.
Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said in Moscow that during the lengthy phone call, Putin and Trump agreed that a long-term peace settlement would be preferable to the temporary ceasefire being pushed by Ukraine and European leaders.
Putin has agreed to a US proposal to create two working groups for the peace talks — one focused on security issues and another on economic issues — Ushakov said, according to a New York Times report.
When welcoming Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago, Trump declined to say whether he expects a peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be reached before the end of the year. / XINHUA