President Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met on Sunday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, saying they are close to a potential peace deal ending Russia’s war in Ukraine—while acknowledging that significant challenges remain.
Speaking at a joint news conference following their sit-down, both leaders said progress had been made on a 20-point peace plan proposed by Kyiv. Trump said the sides were “closer than ever before” to a deal, though he cautioned that “one or two very thorny issues” were still unresolved.
Zelensky echoed that assessment, telling reporters:
We had a really great discussion. We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework.
Describing the deal as a whole as “90% agreed,” he added that U.S., European, and Ukrainian security guarantees were “almost agreed.”
Trump said the best-case scenario for finalising a deal would be “a few weeks,” but declined to give a firm timeline. “I think we’ll get it done,” he said. “I don’t want to say when, but I think we’ll get it done.”
A central sticking point remains territory, particularly the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which Russia has demanded Kyiv cede. Asked by reporters what the “thorniest issues” were, Trump pointed directly to territorial concessions.
After the meeting, Trump and Zelensky spoke with European leaders. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said several leaders held a “good, one-hour long call” with them and welcomed the progress.
Sunday’s meeting was the fourth between Trump and Zelensky this year. Efforts to end the conflict have been underway since shortly after Trump returned to office.
