Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will meet US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday (local time) to discuss the latest draft of a peace plan, including security guarantees for Ukraine and prospects for future economic development amid Russia’s continued strikes on the country.
The meeting suggests that Washington and Kyiv are closing in on a joint position to end the war, which comes after the White House initially threatened to cut off all assistance to Ukraine if Kyiv did not sign on to an initial 28-point draft plan that made major concessions to Russia.
Washington ultimately backed off that threat, and Zelenskyy said this week that the United States and Ukraine had since jointly developed most of a 20-point peace plan, which he said is “90% done”.
“Our task is to make sure that everything will be 100% finished,” he said in voice notes to journalists.
Finalising the document “is not easy, and no one is saying it will definitely be achieved instantly”, he said. “But nevertheless, with every such meeting and every such conversation, we must bring the desired outcome closer.”
There are five documents being discussed, Zelenskyy said, with various bilateral agreements as well as points that must be agreed between Europe, the US, Ukraine and Russia.
“It is impossible to sign [the] 20 points without Russia and without the Europeans. Yes, it is a four-party agreement,” he said.
But even if Washington and Kyiv settle on terms, it is far from clear that Moscow would agree.
“Russia constantly looks for reasons not to agree,” Zelenskyy said. If Russia refuses this new draft, “it means the pressure is insufficient”, adding that he plans to discuss pressure on Russia with Trump.
Ukraine has long said that its partners must do more to punish Russia, including dramatically ramping up sanctions, to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war.
Ukraine and Russia are not in direct communication about the draft, Zelenskyy said, with all communication going through Washington. He said he expects to hear a Russian reaction through the US in the coming days.
Putin declined Ukraine’s request for a Christmas ceasefire and continued to launch drones and missiles at civilian infrastructure in Ukraine over the past several days, killing civilians.
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with US negotiators last weekend and reported back to Putin, leading to follow-up phone conversations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“It was agreed to continue dialogue,” Peskov said, without giving further details.
The latest draft that Trump and Zelenskyy will discuss includes several points that Moscow has said are unacceptable, including a peacetime Ukrainian army that numbers 800,000 troops.
“For us, it’s a security guarantee,” Zelenskyy said. “And the American side hears us.”
It also includes language about a proposed demilitarised zone in the country’s eastern Donbas region. Russia has previously insisted that Ukraine entirely withdraw from the Donetsk region, which is in Donbas, as a condition to end the war. Ukraine, which still controls several major cities Russia has failed to seize, has baulked at this suggestion, saying that would reward Russia’s aggression. Kyiv has long refused to cede territory as part of any agreement.
But Zelenskyy suggested this week that he would be open to discussing a demilitarised area that the US envisions as a “free economic zone”. Still, he raised several concerns about this plan and said Ukraine would withdraw its troops only if Russia did the same.
In a recent conversation with businessmen, Putin said he was still insisting that all of the Donbas region be turned over to Russia, according to the Kommersant newspaper.
Other issues to be discussed include the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest such plant in Europe, which Russia seized in early 2022 but has not yet connected to its electrical grid. Experts have repeatedly warned about the risk of nuclear disaster at the plant, especially because so many experts fled the war or were detained by Russia.
Zelenskyy acknowledged on Friday that the US initiated recent discussions about hosting presidential elections in Ukraine. If elections are to be organised, he said, including any referendum on issues within the 20-point plan, Western partners must be prepared to provide security for such a vote.
“Our partners have sufficient power either to compel Russia or to negotiate with the Russians to provide proper security” for elections, he said.
The Kremlin has repeatedly insisted that Zelenskyy is illegitimate because Ukraine postponed presidential elections initially planned for last year, despite the fact that Putin changed his own constitution to stay in power.
Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia’s 2022 invasion, which has barred presidential elections from taking place. Additionally, millions of Ukrainians are displaced internationally and domestically. Many are living under occupation or are serving in the military, making holding an election exceedingly complicated.
Zelenskyy recently suggested that he would be open to organising a vote if lawmakers determine they can be carried out safely, legally and fairly.
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