Volodymyr Zelensky says he will hold talks with Donald Trump in Florida on peace plan

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will discuss territorial issues, the main obstacle to talks to end the war, with US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday as a 20-point peace framework and security guarantees agreement nears completion.

Announcing the meeting, Zelensky said “a lot could be decided before the New Year” as Washington continues its efforts to end Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

“As for sensitive issues: We will discuss both Donbas and the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. We will definitely discuss other issues as well,” he told reporters in a WhatsApp chat.

Russia wants its troops to withdraw from parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region that it has not been able to occupy for almost four years in order to gain full control of Donbas, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Kyiv wants fighting to stop along existing battle lines.

Seeking a compromise, the United States proposed creating a free economic zone if Ukraine left the region. It remained unclear how this region would operate in practical terms.

Regional issues continue to hinder the progress of negotiations. Zelensky said that any compromise on land should be decided by the Ukrainian people in a possible referendum.

The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, is on the front line and is controlled by Russian forces.

Leaders to refine details at meeting

Zelensky added that his meeting with Trump was aimed at “refining things” on the drafts and discussing potential deals on the Ukrainian economy.

He said he was not ready to say whether any agreement would be signed during his visit, but that Ukraine was open to it.

Zelensky added that the security guarantees agreement between Ukraine and the United States is “almost ready” and the 20-point draft plan is 90 percent completed.

Ukraine, wary of failed guarantees from its allies in the past, is seeking solid and legally binding agreements to prevent further Russian aggression.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump, who has occasionally expressed his disappointment with the slow progress in negotiations, has previously suggested that he would meet with Zelensky if he felt that major diplomatic progress was possible.

According to Zelensky, European leaders can join the talks online. He discussed the “significant progress” made in peace efforts with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Friday (Saturday AEST).

Russia’s demands

It was unclear which peace plan proposals Moscow would be willing to accept.

The Kremlin said Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, met with members of the Trump administration after Moscow received overtures from the United States regarding a possible peace deal.

Asked how Moscow viewed the documents, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not want to comment because Russia felt making a public statement could harm negotiations.

of Russia Kommersant The newspaper reported that Putin told some of Russia’s leading businessmen that he might be open to swapping some territory controlled by Russian forces elsewhere in Ukraine, but in return he wanted all of Donbas.

Even as talks continued, Russia continued to strengthen Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and stepped up its attacks on the southern region of Odessa, where Ukraine’s main ports are located. Two people were killed in Russia’s attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Friday.

Zelensky said he plans to raise the issue of applying additional pressure on Russia with Trump.