Trump to meet Zelensky tomorrow amid push for Ukraine peace deal

Washington: US President Donald Trump is set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida on Sunday, as Kyiv presses ahead with a new 20-point peace plan aimed at ending Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

The White House on Friday (local time) announced that Trump would meet Zelensky at Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, December 28.

Ahead of the meeting, Trump cast himself as the final arbiter of any potential agreement between Ukraine and Russia, striking a guarded note on Zelensky’s latest proposal. “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told POLITICO in an interview. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”

Zelensky has said he will bring a revised peace framework to the talks, including proposals for a demilitarised zone and discussions on US security guarantees.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, ahead of his meeting with Trump, the Ukrainian leader said the two sides would try to “finalise as much as we can”, while cautioning that he could not predict whether the meeting would result in a firm agreement.

Earlier in the day, Zelensky expressed optimism, writing on X that “a lot can be decided before the New Year.”

Trump said he expected the talks with Zelensky to be productive and suggested he was also open to engagement with Moscow. “I think it’s going to go good with him. I think it’s going to go good with (Vladimir) Putin,” he said, adding that he expects to speak with the Russian president “soon, as much as I want.”

The president’s comments underscore the central role Washington is playing in the US-mediated peace effort, even as Russia has shown little movement from its stated positions. Trump said Russia’s economy was under strain. “Their economy is in tough shape, very tough shape,” he said.

Zelensky, meanwhile, has intensified diplomatic outreach ahead of the Florida meeting. He said he had spoken with leaders of NATO, Canada, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Estonia to coordinate positions, stressing that “Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to peace.”

The planned meeting follows Zelensky’s recent conversations with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. Zelensky later described that exchange as a “good conversation.”

Zelensky told reporters that the 20-point plan, developed by Ukrainian and US officials, is “90 per cent ready.” He said he intended to discuss how Ukraine’s allies could guarantee its future security, even as Kyiv signals flexibility on long-standing demands.

Trump also confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would visit him this weekend. “I have Zelensky, and I have Bibi coming. They’re all coming. They all come,” Trump said. “They respect our country again.”

According to reports, Netanyahu is expected to brief Trump on Israel’s concerns over the growing threat from Iran.

During the interview, Trump also addressed recent US airstrikes against ISIS targets in Nigeria, saying he personally delayed the operation by a day for symbolic reasons. “They were going to do it earlier,” he said. “And I said, ‘No, let’s give a Christmas present’… They didn’t think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated.”

Zelensky said Sunday’s talks would also focus on sensitive issues such as management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and control of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, which Moscow claims. Ukrainian officials have described the latest peace proposal as an attempt to show flexibility without conceding territory, including a demilitarised zone tied to a reciprocal Russian withdrawal from parts of Donetsk.

Russia has given no public indication that it is willing to accept such terms. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Yuri Ushakov, a senior foreign policy aide to President Putin, had spoken with members of the Trump administration after Moscow received the latest proposals, without specifying when the conversation took place.

Earlier this week, Zelensky said Ukraine was no longer pursuing immediate NATO membership but was seeking security guarantees that would “mirror” NATO’s Article 5. He also reiterated that Ukraine’s constitution requires any border changes to be approved by referendum, stressing that “the fate of Ukraine should be decided by the people of Ukraine.”

The renewed diplomatic push comes as Canada reaffirmed its backing for Kyiv. On December 26, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Zelenskyy, commending his efforts to secure “a just and lasting peace” and emphasising the need to maintain pressure on Russia, according to a statement from Ottawa.

IANS