Trump says progress made in Ukraine talks but ‘thorny issues’ remain
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky said progress was being made towards ending the Ukraine war during their Florida talks, but the US president admitted the territorial issue remained “unresolved”.
While both the US and Ukrainian presidents described the talks as “great”, Trump said “one or two very thorny issues” remained unresolved, particularly the land issue.
Speaking to reporters in Mar-a-Lago, Zelensky said that they had reached an agreement on “90 percent” of the 20-item peace plan, while Trump said that “close to 95 percent” of the security guarantee for Ukraine had been provided.
Zelensky later said U.S. and Ukrainian teams would meet next week for further talks on issues aimed at ending Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
“We had a comprehensive conversation on all issues and we highly value the progress made by the Ukrainian and American teams in recent weeks,” Zelensky said in a statement on the Telegram messaging application. he said.
Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow now controls approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Trump said Russia’s proposal to turn the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which it largely controls, into a demilitarized zone was “unresolved.”
“Some of this land has been taken,” he told reporters after the meeting. “Some of this land may be usurped, but it can be seized within the next few months.”
Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region and about 99% of neighboring Luhansk. The regions are collectively known as Donbas.
Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw from the small part of Donbas it still controls, while Kiev has insisted the region could become a free economic zone controlled by Ukrainian forces.
The US president has repeatedly changed his stance on Ukraine’s lost territory, and stunned observers in September by suggesting Ukraine could regain it. He later reversed course.
“[That] “This is a very difficult issue,” he said. “It’s an issue that needs to be resolved.”
Trump said security guarantees for Ukraine were “95% complete” without formally committing to logistical support or deploying troops to help protect Ukraine from future attacks.
Trump raised the possibility of trilateral talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine, saying this could happen “at the right time.”
The US president is keen to add the Ukraine-Russia war to the list of conflicts he claims are over, while warning that stalling or canceling talks that are going “really bad” could mean the war is continuing.
Trump had previously had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US president did not offer many details about the phone call, but said he believed the Russian leader “wanted Ukraine to succeed.”
At the same time, Trump acknowledged that Moscow has little interest in a ceasefire that would allow Ukraine to hold a referendum.
“I understand that position,” he added.
Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said the call was initiated by Trump and that he and Putin were discussing the latest EU and Ukrainian proposals to end the war.
Ushakov, Russia’s former ambassador to the United States, said Trump listened to the Kremlin’s assessment of the proposals and that the two presidents left the call together in the belief that the temporary ceasefire proposed by the EU and Ukraine would prolong the conflict.
Zelensky suggested that Ukrainian officials could meet at the White House in January, potentially alongside European leaders, as the US and Ukrainian delegations finalize plans for further talks.
In a post-meeting meeting with European allies, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised “good progress” in the Florida talks and reinforced the need for Ukraine to receive “robust security guarantees from day one.”
