President Donald Trump continued his aggressive attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday, hosting Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago resort to try and land a breakthrough. But he didn’t quite close the deal.
“I do think we’re getting a lot closer, maybe very close,” Trump said after the meeting at a joint press conference with the Ukrainian president, who was clad in a black jacket and button-down shirt.
Prior to the meeting, Trump — who has been stymied in his attempts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine — acknowledged that the situation is “pretty complex, but not that complex” and there was no deadline for reaching a deal except “getting the war ended.”
A few hours later, Zelenskyy said the leaders reached 100% agreement on bilateral security guarantees for Ukraine, with the current 20-point peace plan and U.S.-Europe-Ukraine security guarantees “almost” hashed out.
“Some of that land has been taken,” he said, referring to Ukraine. “Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months, and you’re better off making a deal now.”
Among other unresolved issues is a potential free trade zone in the Donbas region.“That’s a very tough issue, but one that I think will get resolved,” Trump said, later acknowledging Russia’s insistence on Ukraine giving up the Donbas entirely. “That’s an issue to iron out, but I think it’s moving in the right direction.”
It’s unclear how serious Russian President Vladimir Putin is about reaching an agreement – but Trump says he saw “a very interesting” Putin during their call today.
“Russia is going to be helping,” Trump said when asked if he and Zelenskyy discussed the responsibility Russia would have for Ukraine’s reconstruction. “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed … President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding.”
Following their first comments to the press, Trump and Zelenskyy retreated behind closed doors for a meeting including Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who Trump has praised for helping to broker other deals such as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Zelenskyy came to Florida backing a new version of the 20-point plan, which has been through many iterations as Ukraine and Russia negotiate with the U.S. serving as intermediary. Trump — who spoke with Putin before the meeting and said he would do so afterwards — was asked about heavy Russian attacks on Kyiv in the days leading up to the summit.
He responded by saying he believes “Ukraine has made some very strong attacks too,” suggesting, without proof, that Zelenskyy’s country was involved in some explosions inside Russia.
Before Zelenskyy arrived, Trump’s phone conversation with Putin lasted for one hour and 15 minutes, according to Putin aide Yury Ushakov, who described the call as “friendly, good-natured and business-like.”
Ushakov, in a press briefing following the call, said Putin emphasized the need to build upon understandings established during August’s bilateral summit in Anchorage and subsequent negotiations between the countries.
“Most significantly, the Russian and U.S. presidents share a broadly similar view that the temporary ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and Europe – under the pretext of preparing for a referendum or other such measures – would merely prolong the conflict and risk a renewed escalation on the battlefield,” Ushakov said.
Trump said he thinks the ceasefire stalemate is a problem that can get solved. “I think we’re finding ways that we can get around that,” he told reporters after the meeting.
According to Ukraine’s constitution, any changes to the country’s territorial borders must be “resolved exclusively by an All-Ukrainian referendum.” Zelenskyy recently conceded he would be willing to hold a referendum vote on proposed territorial changes.
As Zelenskyy prepared to head to the U.S. on Saturday, he received an intelligence report alleging Russia is taking steps to undermine a potential referendum vote.
“Our society has to choose, and has to vote, because it’s their land, the land not of one person, it’s the land of our nation,” Zelenskyy said on Sunday regarding the possibility of a referendum, adding Ukrainians who have fled abroad would have to return in order to vote. “It’s not simple.”
Ushakov put pressure on Ukraine to quickly decide on territorial concessions.
“Given the evolving situation on the front lines, it would be in the Ukrainian regime’s interest to make such a decision regarding Donbass without further delay,” Putin’s aide said.
During the call, Putin and Trump also agreed to establish two working groups, each focused on security and economic issues, likely in early January.
Trump has been frustrated in his attempts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine after vowing to stop the war within 24 hours of returning to the White House. His allies are quick to point to the shaky truce in the Middle East as proof that the president is deserving of a Nobel prize.
Trump and Zelenskyy will continue discussions over the next couple of weeks ahead of a potential visit to Washington by Zelenskyy and European leaders in January.
“We can move very rapidly,” Trump claimed. “They both want to see it ended.”
Julia Jester covers politics for MS NOW and is based in Washington, D.C.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.