Trump meets with Zelenskyy in push for Ukraine peace plan

U.S. President Donald Trump had a “very productive” phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was scheduled to arrive at Mar-a-Lago in his latest attempt to end the war between the two countries, President Donald Trump said Sunday.

“I had a nice and very productive phone call with Russian President Putin before my meeting with President Zelenskyy at 13:00 today,” Trump said in his statement on Truth Social. to mail.

These high-stakes talks come at a key moment for efforts to end a nearly four-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Zelenskyy, who arrived in Florida early Sunday, said the two leaders planned to talk about economic and security agreements and “territorial issues” that remain major sticking points between Russia and Ukraine.

Although Zelenskyy told reporters this week that about 90 percent of the 20-point peace proposal was ready, it is unclear whether the outcome of the peace talks will be acceptable to Putin.

Moscow has reportedly made progress on the battlefield in recent months, claiming control over more parts of eastern Ukraine and its officials have repeatedly insisted that Ukraine give up all of Donbas, even the parts still under Kiev’s control.

Russia hit Ukraine’s capital and other parts of the country on Saturday with hundreds of missiles and drones, knocking out electricity and heat in parts of the capital, according to Reuters. Zelenskyy described this as Russia’s reaction to US-brokered peace efforts.

Earlier Sunday, a Kremlin official said U.S. and Russian leaders agreed to oppose a temporary ceasefire during talks and hinted that Ukraine must make a “bold decision” on the Donbas region to end the war.

“The main thing is that the presidents of Russia and the United States have similar views that the temporary ceasefire option proposed by the Ukrainians and the Europeans under the pretext of preparing for the referendum or under other pretexts will only lead to a prolongation of the conflict,” Kremlin foreign policy deputy Yuri Ushakov told Reuters. he said.

In his Truth Social post, Trump said his meeting with Zelenskyy would be held in the main dining room of the Mar-a-Lago resort with media in attendance.

In February, a meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy on possible mining deals between the countries turned into a public demonstration, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance accusing Zelenskyy of “disrespecting” the US president.