Trump says progress in Ukraine talks, but ‘difficult issues’ remain

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky said talks in Florida had made progress toward ending the war in Ukraine but failed to achieve breakthroughs on some of the thorniest issues.

U.S. and Ukrainian leaders met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Sunday to discuss a revised deal peace planseveral key parts of which Russia has rejected.

Zelensky said on Monday that the United States had provided a 15-year security guarantee. Trump said on Sunday that agreement on that point was “close to 95 percent.”

But little has been said about the future of Ukraine’s disputed Donbass region, which Russia seeks to take full control of.

Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region and about 99% of the neighboring Lugansk region. The two regions are collectively known as Donbass.

Trump told reporters after the talks that an agreement on the Donbas issue “has not yet been resolved, but it is getting closer.”

Its fate has been a major obstacle throughout the negotiations, with Russia consistently unwilling to compromise on its goal of seizing full control.

On Monday, the Kremlin said again that Ukraine should withdraw its troops from the Donbas region that Kiev still controls. Ukraine insists the region could become a free economic zone overseen by Ukrainian troops, but Zelensky stressed that any negotiations on the matter should include the Ukrainian people, Reuters reported.

The U.S. president has repeatedly reversed his stance on Ukraine’s lost territories and alarmed observers in September by suggesting Ukraine might be able to reclaim them. Later he changed course.

Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago after Sunday’s talks, Zelensky reiterated his belief that the overall peace deal was 90 percent complete, a figure he had given in the days leading up to the visit.

The two leaders also said progress had been made on a key issue, Ukraine’s security.

Zelensky later said that the United States had provided a security guarantee that could be extended for 15 years, but Kyiv wanted the option of extending it for 50 years. He said he wanted guarantees to begin the moment Kyiv signed a peace deal, Reuters reported.

The United States has not yet commented on the time frame. Trump said on Sunday that a deal was close and he expected European countries to “take over a big part of this effort” with U.S. support.

Meanwhile, Trump raised the possibility of trilateral talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine, saying they could take place “at the appropriate time.”

While the US president is keen to add Ukraine’s war with Russia to the list of conflicts he claims is over, he has warned that a deadlock or cancellation of “very bad” negotiations could mean the war continues.

Zelensky suggested that Ukrainian officials could meet at the White House in January, possibly alongside European leaders, as U.S. and Ukrainian delegations finalize plans for further talks.

In a post-meeting call with European allies, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the “good progress” in the Florida talks while stressing Ukraine’s need for “ironclad security guarantees.”

French President Macron also said that Kyiv’s allies will meet in Paris next month to discuss security issues.

Zelensky later said the peace plan should be submitted to a referendum in Ukraine, adding that a 60-day ceasefire was needed for the referendum to take place.

However, Russia does not support a temporary ceasefire – something Trump reportedly raised in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of Sunday’s meeting.

Russia’s former U.S. ambassador Yuri Ushakov said Trump heard the Kremlin’s assessment of the proposals and that the two presidents agreed that a temporary ceasefire proposed by the EU and Ukraine would instead prolong the conflict.

The US president who launched the call admitted that Moscow was not interested in a ceasefire that would allow Ukraine to hold a referendum.

“I understand the position,” he added.

Although Trump said he believed the Russian leader “wanted Ukraine to succeed,” he did not provide further details.

Meanwhile, strikes in Ukraine continued overnight.

Kiev said Russia launched 25 air strikes on Sunday, of which 21 were shot down.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it intercepted 89 drones on Sunday night, the vast majority of which were intercepted over the Bryansk region.