Trump-Zelensky meet: ‘Both Russia and Ukraine want to make a deal,’ says US president

US President Donald Trump on Sunday (Dec 29) said that he thinks both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are serious about making a deal to end the almost four-year war between the two countries. He further emphasised that there will be strong security guarantees for Kyiv post-war. Earlier, Zelensky arrived at Mar-a-Lago and was greeted by Trump. The two leaders shook hands, stopped for pictures, and then took a few questions from reporters ahead of their meeting.

Asked whether he thinks Putin is serious about peace this time, Trump said, “I do, I do. I think he is, I think they both are.”

“We’ve got to make a deal, got to get it done … I think both presidents want to make a deal,” Trump said and then turned to Zelensky saying that he would brief him on the call with Putin.

"I think we're very, we're in final stages of talking, and we're going to see. Otherwise, it's going to go on for a long time," said Trump, adding that he did not have a deadline for the process.

Trump initially dismissed a reporter’s question about security guarantees as “dumb”, but then added, “There will be a security agreement. It will be a strong agreement. The European nations are very much involved in that.”

The European nations “have been really great” and “they’re all terrific people”, he added.

Speaking to the press ahead of a meeting with Trump, the Ukrainian president stated that 90% of the 20-point peace plan has been completed by the Ukrainian and US teams, and they will discuss the remaining points, including the issue of territory.

Ahead of his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said he had a “productive” phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my 1:00 p.m. meeting today with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The meeting will take place in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago, and the press is invited,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

US President Trump had put forward a draft plan to end the war, setting off a series of high-level negotiations. Talks began in Geneva between US, European, and Ukrainian officials over post-war security guarantees and territorial issues. Follow-up meetings in Florida brought US envoys and Ukrainian representatives together for marathon sessions to refine the proposal, followed by a two-day talk between US officials and the Ukrainian president in Berlin on December 16.