Volodymyr Zelenskyj with Donald Trump in Florida.Image: keystone
December 29, 2025, 12:54 p.mDecember 29, 2025, 12:58 p.m
US President Donald Trump spreads optimism after meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida. Kyiv and Moscow also speak of progress.
At the same time, it remains unclear what a possible peace solution for Ukraine could look like in detail. In order to achieve a breakthrough, further negotiations should now take place at several levels.
According to Trump’s statements, efforts to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on for almost four years, are going well. At the press conference after Zelensky’s reception on Sunday (local time), he spoke of a “great meeting” with the Ukrainian and an “excellent telephone conversation” with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. He told journalists that 95 percent of the questions had been answered.
His guest spoke of at least 90 percent for whom the US peace plan, which was slimmed down to 20 points by Europeans and Ukrainians, had now been negotiated. Zelensky particularly emphasized that the US security guarantees for Ukraine had been fully agreed.
Zelenskyj grimaces at Trump’s statements:
Video: watson/X
Phone call with Putin
Trump, who called the Kremlin immediately before his meeting with Zelensky, plans to have another conversation with Putin to inform him of the results achieved on Sunday. He did not give an exact time for the phone call. It is expected to take place in the next few days.
In Moscow, telephone diplomacy between the Kremlin and the White House is seen as the most important measure to end the war. “One thing is clear: Russia and the USA have the keys to regulating (the conflict), the Europeans will continue to do evil things, and Zelenskyj will smoke nervously on the sidelines,” wrote the deputy head of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) and well-known Russian foreign politician Konstantin Kosachev on Telegram.
This corresponds to the line chosen by Moscow for months: to negotiate the conditions for peace in the neighboring country with Washington alone, over the heads of Ukrainians and Europeans.
Working groups negotiate details
Before a possible conclusion at the highest level, there are now meetings of working groups. Negotiations continue at bilateral level. This means that Americans speak to Russians and Ukrainians separately. According to Zelensky, further meetings between a Ukrainian negotiating delegation and US diplomats are scheduled for the next few weeks. The most recent negotiator for Kiev at the talks was the Secretary of the National Security Council, Rustem Umjerov.
In addition, a US-Russian working group will also be founded, as Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov announced. Kirill Dmitriyev is likely to remain the Russian chief negotiator. The US side includes Trump’s negotiator Steve Witkoff, the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chief of Staff Dan Caine.
Yuri Ushakov, Jared Kushner and Steve Vitkoff.Image: Alexander Kazakov
Another meeting
According to Zelensky, there could be another meeting with Trump in January. According to him, Kiev’s European allies should also be present.
Before that, the Europeans also want to coordinate with each other again. French President Emmanuel Macron has already announced another meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing in Paris. There, Ukraine’s European partners want to specify how they can contribute to further aid for the attacked country.
The Ukrainian and American delegation in Palm Beach, Florida.Image: keystone
The territorial issues remain the sticking point
Neither Trump nor Zelensky made any specific public statements on Sunday about the content of a possible peace solution. The most important unresolved issue remains Moscow’s demand to take possession of additional Ukrainian territories. Russia insists on annexing the entire Donetsk region, including the metropolitan area around Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which it has so far failed to conquer in four years of war.
Ukraine, on the other hand, rejects a unilateral withdrawal and could at best be satisfied with the solution of a demilitarized zone in the disputed area – if Russia also withdraws its troops accordingly.
There are currently no signals from the Kremlin that Putin is ready to do this. On the contrary: The 73-year-old had recently publicly stated several times that he would stick to his war goals and, if necessary, enforce them militarily. This is combined with the threat of intensifying demands for a peace agreement in this case. (sda/dpa)