President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met at Mar-a-Lago and say a negotiated framework to end the war in Ukraine is close, with both leaders pointing to major progress on a 20-point peace plan while also acknowledging sharp disagreements over territory, ceasefire terms and how any deal would be approved in Ukraine.
The two spoke to reporters after a high-profile meeting in Florida, describing weeks of diplomacy that included U.S., Ukrainian, European Union and NATO teams working toward a common framework. They emphasized that the process has been intensive and multi-city, moving negotiations forward even as several core issues remain unsettled.
Trump framed the talks as the most advanced they have been since the conflict began, saying recent weeks produced significant movement but warning a few thorny questions still stand between agreement and implementation. “We could be very close,” Trump said. “There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues. But I think we’re doing very well. We made a lot of progress today, but really, we’ve made it over the last month. This is not a one-day process. It’s very complicated stuff.”
Zelenskyy agreed that negotiators have made tangible headway and credited sustained outreach across multiple international meetings for bringing parties to the table in Florida. He listed several venues where teams met in recent weeks, signaling coordination across capitals as part of the push to lock down a workable settlement.
“We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework, which includes – and we have great achievements – a 20-point peace plan, 90% agreed,” Zelenskyy said, highlighting the detailed scope of the framework under discussion. That high percentage underscores how negotiators have narrowed the field to a handful of major sticking points rather than a broad swamp of unresolved items.
European and NATO officials were described as closely involved throughout, and the leaders said a joint call followed the meeting to keep allied capitals aligned. Teams are expected to reconvene in the coming weeks to tackle remaining questions, and Trump signaled willingness to host additional talks in Washington to press the effort forward with allied partners and Ukrainian representatives.
Territory remains the hardest issue, especially the status of Donbas and other contested regions, and both men acknowledged that positions still diverge sharply. “Some of that land has been taken,” Trump said. “Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months. Are you better off making a deal now?” That blunt framing pushes the urgency of negotiation and the calculation between holding line and cutting a deal.
Zelenskyy stressed that any final accord must be compatible with Ukrainian law and reflect the will of the Ukrainian people, which could mean parliamentary votes or a national referendum. “Our society, too, has to choose and decide who has to vote, because it’s their land – the land not of one person,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s the land of our nation for a lot of generations.”
Trump also pointed to public appetite for an end to the fighting and framed a settlement as a moral and practical imperative to stop bloodshed. “We want to see it ended,” Trump said. “I want it ended because I don’t want to see so many people dying. We’re losing massive numbers of people – the biggest by far since World War II.”
