Trump Hails‘A Lot Of Progress’In Talks With Zelenskiy

Summary:

Trump said he made "a lot of progress" in talks with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy.

Donald Trump said he made "a lot of progress" in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as the US president pushes for a peace deal to end Russia's invasion.

Even as Moscow shows little willingness to compromise, Trump said Sunday that a deal is "very close," although it might take a few weeks to get it done. He added that he and Zelenskiy plan to speak again over the coming weeks.

"We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework," Trump said, saying it's "90% agreed." He added, "Ukraine security guarantees, 100% agreed. US, Europe, Ukraine security guarantees, almost agreed. Military dimension, 100% agreed. Prosperity plan being finalized."

The pair also spoke on the phone with a group of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"Ukraine is ready for peace," Zelenskiy said.

Trump said he would be willing to speak to Ukraine's parliament if that would help cement a deal. He also said he could envision a trilateral meeting with Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I see that happening sure, at the right time," he said.

Ahead of the meeting, Trump said he held a "good and very productive" phone call with Putin and that he planned to speak with him again after meeting Zelenskiy.

The Ukrainian leader went into the meeting saying he aimed to resolve key outstanding issues, including the status of territories in the east of Ukraine, future security guarantees and the fate of a nuclear power plant occupied by Russia.

After nearly a year of US efforts to end the war failed to yield a deal, Trump had said he would only meet with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders again if an agreement were imminent. So far, the warring sides have been negotiating mainly with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Putin has continued to press his demands, including for Ukraine to cede territories in the country's south and east that Moscow's troops have failed to capture in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. That's even as more than 1.1 million Russian troops have been killed and wounded by Western estimates since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion that's nearing its fifth year, and Russia's economy faces increasing strain from unprecedented sanctions.

Trump has ramped up pressure on Ukraine to make concessions and dangled promises of economic cooperation at Russia. While Zelenskiy has repeatedly declared his readiness for a ceasefire to allow space for peace negotiations, Putin has refused Trump's calls for a truce without first having reached agreement on a deal.

"The presidents of Russia and the US generally share similar views that the option proposed by the Ukrainians and Europeans for a temporary ceasefire — supposedly to prepare for a referendum or under other pretexts — only leads to prolonging the conflict," Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Sunday while describing Putin's call with Trump in an audio post on Telegram.

On Saturday, Moscow launched a massive airstrike involving more than 500 drones and 40 missiles targeting Kyiv and the country's key energy facilities — a day after a Russian official accused Ukraine and its European allies of seeking to sabotage an agreement.

"Russians are pursuing a campaign built on instilling exhaustion, cold, and fear," Ukraine Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said on Telegram about the barrage, which killed one person and left about a third of Kyiv's more than 3 million residents without heating.

Ukrainian officials have toiled over the last few weeks to revise a 28-point draft plan originally proposed by the US but seen as overly favorable to Russia. The latest version has 20 points, but Moscow has warned that the plan includes elements it won't accept, including on the size of Ukraine's post-war military.

Russia also wants guarantees against future eastward expansion by the NATO military alliance and on Ukraine's neutral status if it joins the European Union, as well as clarity on the issue of removing sanctions and on hundreds of billions of dollars of Moscow's frozen state assets in the West, according to a person close to the Kremlin.

Russia wants Ukraine to give up a fortress belt of territory in the eastern Donetsk region that Moscow has failed to take by force. Zelenskiy rejects that demand though he has said he's ready to agree to a demilitarized zone in the area provided Russia also pulled back its forces, something Moscow is unlikely to accept.

Ukraine has pushed for binding guarantees of US protection in the event Russia attacks again, even as Trump has said the country won't be allowed to join NATO. Zelenskiy said Friday he wants to discuss with Trump how the US could apply more pressure to Russia if Putin doesn't agree to sign the peace deal.

Another key sticking point has been the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently occupied by Russia. Zelenskiy said last week that Washington was pressing for the facility to be jointly owned by all three sides, while Ukraine is offering to share the plant only with the US.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

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