Zelenskyy-Putin phone call possible after Trump Mar-a-Lago meeting

Talks Sunday between President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy could pave the way for the first meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in more than five years, a source familiar with the discussions said.

While the Mar-a-Lago meeting was framed as a step forward in peace efforts under Trump’s leadership, the source also talked about what a “diplomatic victory” it would be for the president to have a direct phone call with Zelenskyy-Putin.

“If Putin had attended a call on Sunday, it would have been the biggest success in preparing for peace talks and the first real step in the peace process,” the source told Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity.

“This would be [a] President Trump’s diplomatic victory.”

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“Trump seems to be the most successful negotiator because Putin and Zelenskyy perceive each other emotionally, and that’s a challenge.”

Trump confirmed on Sunday that he spoke with Putin ahead of the Zelenskyy meeting, describing the meeting as “good and very productive” in a post on Truth Social.

“I believe we have reached the necessary stages of reaching an agreement,” Trump told reporters, standing next to Zelenskyy, after arriving in Florida on Sunday, adding that he believed the process “could move very quickly.”

“I think we’re in the final stages of the conversation and we’ll see,” Trump said.

“Otherwise it will continue for a long time. It will either end, or it will continue for a long time and millions more people will be killed,” the president added.

The Florida meeting came just days after Zelenskyy said he had a “good meeting” with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner; both were there on Sunday.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and European leaders pose for a photo during talks at the Chancellery in Berlin on December 15, 2025. (Lisi Niesner/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

As Zelenskyy approaches Sunday’s meeting, the source said the Ukrainian leader is likely feeling anxious.

“Zelenskyy is usually very nervous before such meetings with President Trump,” the source said. “He concentrates for a long time and studies the notes prepared for him by the Department of International Policy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Sunday also marked the third face-to-face meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy since Trump returned to office.

The source said that at the center of the discussions was a 20-point, US-backed peace plan that resulted from weeks of negotiations that would require a compromise between Kiev and Moscow to establish contact and perhaps talk directly with Zelenskyy.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Donald Trump in Washington DC on August 19, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidency / Declaration/Anatolia, via Getty Images)

“The only difficulty they face is that Putin has refused to talk to Zelenskyy since July 2020, when they talked about the Wagner scandal and the failed operation to arrest Russian Wagner militants.”

“After that, Zelenskyy repeatedly tried to talk to Putin, but he refused.”

“There were windows of opportunity for talks in August and September 2024, but these disappeared again when Ukraine occupied the Kursk region,” the source said.

The last direct contact between the two leaders followed a failed Ukrainian operation targeting Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Ukrainian intelligence lured the mercenaries to Belarus and planned to stop them as they traveled from Minsk to Istanbul before the men were arrested. Kyiv Independent.

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Allied states say Putin is testing NATO’s limits with aircraft strikes. (Ramil Sitdikov/Pool/Reuters)

“The last meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin came as Ukraine was trying to capture a group of Russian Wagner fighters,” the source said. “The operation failed.”

The source said relations between the two leaders were tense even before communication was completely cut off.

“Before this point in 2020, talks between Zelenskyy and Putin were never friendly and there was always tension between them. During the talks, Putin was always reticent and Zelenskyy tried to establish rapport.”

“Zelenskyy was always obedient to Putin and acted as if he was in a good mood, as if he were playing a role on stage,” the source said.

“He talked a lot and read from his notes because he was afraid of forgetting something. Sometimes he would stumble over his words or forget punctuation.”

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the 20-point plan, which US officials say is about 90 percent complete, could include a limited withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of eastern Ukraine. (Putin photo: Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via Reuters; Zelenskyy photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)

“When Putin was silent, Zelenskyy would always politely ask: ‘What do you think, Vladimir Vladimirovich?'”

“Putin was never talkative,” the source said.

The Florida talks took place as Kiev signaled a possible change in its negotiating stance. Zelenskyy said the 20-point plan, which U.S. officials say is about 90 percent complete, could include the creation of demilitarized zones as well as the withdrawal of limited Ukrainian troops from parts of eastern Ukraine without formally recognizing Russian control.

He also offered to put the plan to a national referendum if Moscow agreed to a 60-day ceasefire.

Zelenskyy has drawn a hard line on security guarantees, insisting that Ukraine needs legally binding assurances from the United States to deter future Russian aggression.

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Rescue teams work in a building damaged by a Russian attack on Saturday, December 27, 2025, in Kiev, Ukraine. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

“It is very important for us to have a signal that we want legally binding security guarantees,” Zelenskyy told Ukrainian journalists on Saturday. he said. “This is primarily up to President Trump,” he added.

“Ukraine is ready to do whatever it takes to stop this war,” Zelenskyy also wrote on X this weekend.

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“The number one or only priority for us is to end the war. The priority for us is peace. We need to be strong at the negotiating table. To be strong, we need the support of the world: Europe and the USA.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Kremlin and President Zelenskyy’s office for comment.