Trump meets Zelensky on home turf as peace talks hit critical stage

Zelensky appeared to tease on social media that a deal could come out of his meeting with Trump. “We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future. A lot can be decided before the New Year. Glory to Ukraine!” he wrote on X.

He later told Axios that he would like to agree to a framework for ending the war with Russia and is bringing a plan for a referendum on a 20-point peace plan developed between the U.S. and Ukraine if Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire.

“I think now we are at the next level, and that’s why we need to negotiate with presidents,” he said. “We want to finish it as quickly as possible. That’s why I count on this meeting.”

Trump, however, cast himself as the final decider of how a possible peace deal shakes out. “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico. “So, we’ll see what he’s got.” The president did appear to signal that the meeting on Sunday will “go good” with Zelensky, and that he will talk soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But discussions about whether Ukraine will cede territory from its eastern border, particularly Donbas, to Russia remain one of the key tensions to ending the war.

Russia has captured much of Luhansk and Donetsk, the two areas that make up the Donbas, during the conflict, but Zelensky has so far refused to give up the Donbas. Zelensky has said that Ukrainian forces would be willing to leave the eastern part of the country if Russian troops also withdraw and the area becomes demilitarized, with an international coalition monitoring the region.

ZELENSKY ‘READY’ TO BRING TRUMP’S PEACE PLAN TO A VOTE IF RUSSIA AGREES TO 60-DAY CEASEFIRE

Zelensky has also pushed for security guarantees from the U.S. in exchange for agreeing to end the war without gaining NATO membership for Ukraine. “I think we need more than 15 years,” Zelensky said about the proposed 15-year backing from the U.S.

He has also taken issue with the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russia controls, located in southern Ukraine.

The Mar-a-Lago meeting showcases Trump’s seriousness about facilitating the end of the battle, said one GOP strategist.

“You’re away from the eyes of D.C. and the press,” said Ford O’Connell. “And it’s a situation where people can speak more freely and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do.’ And I think it just sends a signal to Moscow that now is the time to do this. And we are very serious about it. And obviously Ukraine is too.”

Similar to his last visit to the White House, when most European Union leaders flew into Washington, Zelensky told reporters he would like European allies to attend the Mar-a-Lago summit, but acknowledged that the timing could make it unlikely. “We must, without doubt, find some format in the near future in which not only Ukraine and the U.S. are present, but Europe is represented as well,” he said.

Putin has repeatedly stalled peace negotiations, even as Trump rolled out the red carpet for him during their August meeting in Alaska. Even if Trump and Zelensky agree to a peace deal, there is no guarantee that Putin will accept the terms.

Russia has continued to launch aerial attacks against Ukraine, and Putin ordered drone strikes against Ukraine on Christmas Eve, which drew severe criticism from bipartisan U.S. lawmakers in a joint statement.

A Republican close to the White House said now was the time to “strike while the iron is hot,” to force a peace agreement. “Putin has been reticent to peace compared to Zelensky,” they continued.

But with Zelensky now in the good graces of the White House after an explosive meeting at the White House in February, the meeting on Sunday will send a message to Moscow. “They’re trying to make the point to the Russians. We are in a serious, critical stage of negotiation. You basically need to get your butt to the table,” the Republican said. “It’s a direct message to Russia.”

Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Zelensky on Christmas, producing “a very good conversation,” according to the Ukrainian leader.

The Trump administration has regularly touted multiple peace negotiations that have been brokered in 2025, including ending battles between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, and Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Trump’s willingness to continue negotiating over Russia and Ukraine signals his seriousness in ending the conflict.

“It shows you the president’s commitment to peace, to be having these confabs during the Christmas holiday season, when most presidents in the past haven’t been thinking this way,” O’Connell said.