NewzVille International
The much-anticipated talks to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict took place in Florida on Sunday, where US President Donald Trump said negotiators were getting “closer” to a Ukraine peace deal. However, he acknowledged that “thorny issues” remain and declined to give a concrete timeline for their resolution.
The two leaders spoke at a joint press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trump said it would become clear “in a few weeks” whether negotiations to end the conflict would succeed.
Both leaders said the two countries are broadly in agreement on most points in the negotiations. Notably, however, neither Trump nor Zelenskyy offered a timeline, instead vowing that their teams would meet again in the coming weeks.
Trump described the talks as a “terrific meeting” and said that Donbas, the eastern Ukrainian territory on the front line of fighting, remained an “unresolved” issue, though he added that they were “getting a lot closer” to an agreement.
He said Russia “are going to be helping” with the reconstruction of Ukraine and added that he was open to visiting Ukraine, ideally after a deal is agreed.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, thanked Trump for a “great meeting” and said a 20-point peace plan was “90%” agreed. The Ukrainian leader also described the points as “100% agreed”, calling them a “key milestone in achieving lasting peace”.
Just before the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump held a phone call that the US president described as “productive” and the Kremlin termed “friendly”.
Following the meeting, the Ukrainian President and other European leaders took to social media to thank US President Donald Trump and welcome the progress made in peace negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
