Kyiv [Ukraine], December 30: US President Donald Trump declared that they are closer to a peace agreement for Ukraine, although he acknowledged that thorny issues remain unresolved.
After several rounds of lower-level negotiations, US and Ukrainian leaders met early yesterday morning (December 29, Vietnam time) at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to finalize an agreement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the US hoping the White House would accept his 20-point peace proposal (a shortened version of the initial 28-point proposal), but no breakthrough was announced after the meeting, according to CNN.
Russia's opinion
Before meeting with Zelensky, Trump spoke on the phone for over an hour with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said the call went "very well and was productive." Trump expressed confidence that Putin was serious and desired peace, and reiterated Russia's statement that it did not attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, the two leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine and prospects for cooperation between the two countries. Ushakov emphasized that Ukraine needs to make bold and responsible political decisions to end the conflict, calling on Kyiv to withdraw its troops from the Donbass region. "Given the current situation on the front lines, it is logical for the Ukrainian authorities to make a swift decision regarding Donbass," Ushakov said, according to TASS.
Trump later reiterated this point, arguing that parts of Donbass had already been seized and others were likely to be taken within months, so it would be better for Ukraine to accept the deal. Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw completely from Donbass, while Zelensky wants to establish a demilitarized zone there. The leader said he was ready to hold a referendum, as stipulated by the constitution, to resolve the territorial issue, but demanded a minimum 60-day ceasefire to allow for the referendum.
Meanwhile, Russia opposed the proposal and said that Trump shared the same view. According to Ushakov, in the earlier phone call, "the two presidents of Russia and the United States generally shared the view that a temporary ceasefire proposed by the Ukrainians and Europeans - whether to prepare for the referendum or for any other reason - would only prolong the conflict and could lead to a resurgence of hostilities."
A thorny issue
Prior to the meeting, President Zelensky estimated that about 90% of the peace plan's content had been agreed upon. The remaining 10% was considered a difficult issue to resolve, including territorial disputes and the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russian forces controlled from the early stages of the conflict. Zelensky stated that the draft would guarantee Ukraine's security for 15 years, but he had asked President Trump to increase it to 50 years, according to Reuters. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the US, Ukraine, and Europe were making progress on guaranteeing Kyiv's security and that a meeting of Western countries would be convened in early January 2026 to agree on each country's contribution.
Following yesterday's meeting, Mr. Trump acknowledged that "there are still one or two very thorny, very difficult issues," including the fate of Donbass. However, the White House occupant expressed confidence that they "are very close" to peace. Unlike previous occasions, Mr. Trump no longer set a deadline for a potential agreement, seemingly implicitly acknowledging the difficulty of the negotiations. "We made a lot of progress today, but we've actually been working on this for over a month. This isn't a deal that can be done in a day; it's very complicated," Mr. Trump said.
The leader also praised Zelensky's courage in seeking peace and said he was ready to go to Kyiv to speak before the Ukrainian Parliament should the country vote to cede territory in exchange for peace. The two leaders agreed that their delegations would continue working next week to finalize all the issues discussed. "I think we're in the final stages of dialogue. Either it ends, or the conflict continues and millions more people lose their lives," Trump warned.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
