US President Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a meeting at the White House on October 17. Photo / Demetrius Freeman, The Washington Post
United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today took steps towards agreeing on a proposal to end Russia’s invasion, but difficult sticking points remain to be resolved and it’s unclear if Russia would agree to their recommendations.
The leaders said talks involving the three countries would continue in January.
Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders all praised Sunday’s progress, despite the absence of a clear breakthrough.
“This is not a one-day process deal. This is very complicated stuff,” Trump said of the negotiations, which earlier he called “pretty complex, but not that complex”.
During a joint news conference with Zelenskyy, Trump cited “one or two” unresolved problems that he didn’t specify.
Donbas region
One appeared to be the future of the Donbas region of Ukraine, which is largely occupied by Russian forces.
Last month, Ukraine rejected Russia’s demand to withdraw from parts of the region to create a demilitarised zone. Now, Zelenskyy is proposing that both sides withdraw from the area to create an economic free zone with international troops and monitors.
“The word ‘agreement’ is too strong,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question about the zone. “I would say not ‘agreed,’ but we’re getting closer to an agreement on that. And that’s a big issue.”
Security guarantees
Zelenskyy noted that the US and Ukraine were “100% agreed” on security guarantees against future Russian aggression, with some final work remaining on an economic plan for rebuilding the country.
He did not address some of the other asks in a 20-point proposal he brought with him to Mar-a-Lago, such as a date for admission to the European Union and a pledge for European military aid.
“Paramount to this effort is to have ironclad security guarantees from day one,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said online after her one-hour call with Trump and Zelenskyy, which also included leaders from France, Finland, Poland, Norway, Italy, Britain, Germany and Nato.
Nato membership
After Russia’s invasion in 2022, Ukraine applied for Nato membership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow would view Ukrainian membership as a “direct threat” to Russia and has repeatedly demanded a guarantee that Ukraine never be admitted to the alliance.
Europe role
Zelenskyy floated the idea of a future summit in Washington with European leaders.
Zelenskyy previewed that he wanted to use such a meeting to increase pressure on Russia, but he and Trump did not announce anything concrete.
Trump only said he believes Putin is ready for peace and tempered his optimism with several cautious notes.
“If things don’t happen, they keep fighting and they keep dying,” Trump said. “In a few weeks, we will know one way or the other, I think.”
Ukraine approval
Trump said he would be willing to address Ukraine’s parliament, acknowledging that either it or a popular referendum would be needed before any peace plan ceding territory could be concluded.
Trump has cycled through bouts of frustrations with all parties over the past year as the brutal war has defied his promises for peace.
And he has had a turbulent relationship with Zelenskyy ever since the Ukrainian refused Trump’s demands to investigate Joe Biden in 2018, leading to Trump’s first impeachment.
Today, he praised Zelenskyy as “brave” and also complimented European leaders whom he has at other times berated for mistreating the US at trade or military spending.
Before the meeting, Trump brushed off concerns that Putin, who started the war by invading Ukraine in 2022, wasn’t serious about peace as his forces pounded the Ukrainian capital this weekend.
At least four people were killed and 30 wounded in Russian attacks at the weekend, Ukrainian authorities said.
An assault on Kyiv’s energy grid knocked out heat in a third of the capital, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, and caused widespread power cuts.
Trump called Putin ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy and said he planned to speak with him again afterwards.
“President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices,” Trump said during the news conference.
“Russia is going to be helping. Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed.”
Trump and Zelenskyy met privately with their delegations in the Mar-a-Lago dining room.
Joining the US President were his chief of staff, Susie Wiles; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth; Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine; US envoy Steve Witkoff; Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; the General Services Administration’s Josh Gruenbaum; and policy adviser Stephen Miller.
After little to show for previous summits - with Putin in Alaska in August, and Zelenskyy in Washington in October - Trump waved off any more in-person meetings until he viewed a resolution as closer to fruition.
Last month’s unsuccessful push centred on a proposal that Witkoff drafted in close collaboration with the Russian side.
This time, Zelenskyy presented a 20-point plan that he said the US has already mostly agreed to.
Under the draft plan, Ukraine would maintain a peacetime military of 800,000 troops to discourage future attacks. Moscow has said it couldn’t abide such a force.
Putin has demanded Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region. Zelenskyy has said Ukraine will not give up any territory.
As Trump has wavered between the two sides, Zelenskyy has relied on European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, for more consistent support.
Ahead of his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy flew to Canada to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney, who announced a new round of US$1.8 billion assistance to Ukraine.
Putin has repeatedly rejected proposals for ceasefires and refused to meet Zelenskyy, who he claims is an illegitimate leader.
Since launching the war, he has shown no interest in moving off his core demands, including the seizure of large swathes of Ukraine.
- Natalia Abbakumova, Matthew Hay Brown and Niha Masih contributed to this report.
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