US President Donald Trump said he had a 'terrific' meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and an "excellent" phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lasted for over two hours.
The meeting comes as the US, Ukraine and Russia hope to seal a deal to bring peace to war-hit Ukraine.
"I do think we are getting a lot closer, maybe very close," Trump said after the key meeting with Zelensky. Here are key takeaways from Trump-Zelensky meeting: 1. “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Trump said during a late afternoon news conference following the meeting with Zelensky, whom he repeatedly praised as “brave.”
He added, “President Putin was very generous in his way toward Ukraine succeeding...including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices.”
2. Zelensky said the US-Ukraine security guarantees were a "key milestone in achieving lasting peace that our teams will continue working"," while Trump said nothing is 100% yet, RT News reported.
3. When asked if he anticipates going to Ukraine, Trump said, "I have no problem doing it...don't anticipate it...would like to get a deal done and NOT have to go." He said, " I will offer to go to speak to their Parliament, and that would help..." Zelensky intervened to welcome Trump at this point. "You are welcome. Always," the Ukrainian President said.
4. Trump said, "I saw a very interesting President Putin today...he wants to see it happen...He told me very strongly. I believe him". He said he still believes Putin is “very serious” about ending the war.
“I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also,” Trump told reporters as Zelensky stood by his side. “And I don’t say that negatively. I think, you probably have to. I don’t say that negatively. But I think, he hasn’t told me that, but there have been some explosions in various parts of Russia. It looks to me, like, I don’t know. I don’t think it came from the Congo.”
5. Trump said he believes a peace agreement is "close" but acknowledged that a few "thorny" issues remain unresolved. When asked about the "thorniest issues" still unresolved, Trump said, "The land.
"Some of that land has been taken... You're better off making a deal now...," Trump said, adding, "Some of the land is being taken, some of the land may be 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," Trump said.
6. Trump also acknowledged that the fate of the eastern Donbas region, which Russia has demanded Ukraine surrender, remains a major issue.
"We're getting closer to an agreement on that. And that's a big issue," he said while appearing alongside Zelensky. "Certainly, that's one of the big issues, and I think we're closer."
7. Trump noted that it was possible that the negotiations will fall apart. “In a few weeks, we will know one way or the other, I think," Trump said. "We could have something where one item that you’re not thinking about is a big item, breaks it up. Look, it’s been a very difficult negotiation. Very detailed,” he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
"Ukraine is ready for peace," Zelensky said in a post on X. He thanked President Trump for the "wonderful meeting," and said, "We had a meaningful discussion on all issues and highly appreciate the progress achieved by the Ukrainian and American teams over the past weeks."
He offered special thanks to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for their engagement and full commitment to the cause, “as well as to our team, primarily Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov.”
"We discussed all aspects of the peace framework and achieved significant results. We also discussed the sequence of further actions. We agree that security guarantees are key...to achieving lasting peace, and our teams will continue working on all aspects," Zelensky.
The Ukrainian President said it was agreed that "our teams will meet next week to finalise all discussed issues. And, we also coordinated with President Trump that he will host Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington in January."