Volodymyr Zelenskyy said US security guarantees for Ukraine were “100% agreed” following a high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday.
The Ukrainian president hailed “great achievements” following a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart, who insisted that Russia’s war against Ukraine must end soon.
Zelenskyy told reporters in Florida that US security guarantees for the country, a key point before a peace settlement can be finalised, have been “100% agreed” and an economic plan to revitalise the Ukrainian economy is “almost finalised”.
“We have great achievements, the 20-point peace plan is 90% agreed and US-Ukraine security guarantees are 100% agreed,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “US, Europe and Ukraine security guarantees are almost agreed. The military dimension is 100% agreed.”
Trump said the talks with Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation will continue on Monday. While hailing a productive meeting, the US president acknowledged that the most sensitive issue — the possible partition of territories — remains unresolved.
“Some of that land is maybe up for grabs,” Trump said. “They’re going to have to iron that one out. But I think it’s moving in the right direction.”
When asked specifically about the Donbas in Ukraine’s east — the area consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk which Ukraine has opposed giving up as it would reward Russia, which has occupied parts of it — Trump conceded, “That’s a very tough issue.”
Without putting a deadline or signalling a timeline, Trump said “we will see in a few weeks” if the peace plan works out.
European role in Ukraine’s security guarantees
Trump said Europe will be responsible for a significant share of Ukraine’s future security architecture, but added that the US “will help” without providing further details.
Ukraine has repeatedly argued that US security guarantees must be part of the final deal.
The two presidents spoke by phone with European leaders for over an hour during their meeting on Sunday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the meeting showed “good progress” and Europe will keep “working with Ukraine and our US partners to consolidate this progress,” she added in a post on X after the call.
Von der Leyen stressed that “paramount to this effort is to have ironclad security guarantees from day one” to end a decade-long pattern of Russian aggression.
The leaders of Finland, France, Poland, the UK, Germany, Italy and Norway and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte joined the call on Sunday.
Another round of joint negotiations between Ukraine, European leaders and the US is expected to take place in Washington as early as January next year.
Europeans have been trying to re-enter the negotiating table after being sidelined by the US in direct talks with Moscow.
Responding to questions from reporters, Zelenskyy said he hoped all documents would be finalised and approved within the next month. Before the meeting, the Ukrainian president stated “a lot of things” could be decided before the New Year.
Moscow’s reaction to the Mar-a-Lago meeting
An hour before meeting Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago, Trump also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After the call, Trump said that the Kremlin has not changed its stance, demanding complete control of Ukraine’s eastern regions, which it does not fully control militarily after almost four years of war, as well as Moscow’s opposition to a ceasefire.
“He (Putin) feels that they’re fighting and to stop, if they have to start again, which is a possibility – he doesn’t want to be in that position,” Trump said after the call.
Ukrainian authorities have said they are ready for a ceasefire as a sign of good faith.
Asked about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), occupied by Russia since the early stages of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, Trump said Putin is “working with Ukraine on getting it open” on the basis that Putin “wants to see it open” too.
The ZNPP, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, has been heavily militarised by Russian forces, prompting repeated concerns about the risks of an accident.
When asked about Putin’s goals, Trump said he is convinced that the Russian president wants to end the all-out war and even wants “Ukraine to succeed” as a country.
That is in contrast with Moscow’s actions over the weekend, which pounded Ukraine with a barrage of drones and missiles, targeting specifically the capital of Kyiv.
Russian attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure have caused widespread blackouts, leaving millions of Ukrainians without electricity and heating and affecting the country’s economy.
