Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are preparing to meet to discuss a peace agreement which could end almost four years of war between Russia and Ukraine.
The US President will host his Ukrainian counterpart at Mar-a-Lago where he has been spending the holidays at 1pm EST, the White House said.
They will discuss three key issues – raising pressure on Russia, security guarantees, and investment in postwar reconstruction, according to the Washington Post.
It comes just a day after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring 20 more.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little interest in negotiating a peace deal, while Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ‘willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war’.
Writing on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy said: ‘For us, priority number one – or the only priority – is ending the war. For us, the priority is peace.
‘We need to be strong at the negotiating table. To be strong, we need the support of the world: Europe and the United States.’
Zelenskyy said his country needs more air defenses, weaponry, and money.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are poised to discuss three key issues as they discuss a peace agreement which could end almost four years of war
Russian President Vladimir Putinhas shown little interest in negotiating a peace deal, while Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ‘willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war’ in the post above
‘If the whole world – Europe and America – is on our side, together we will stop Putin,’ he wrote.
Trump told Politico he thought their Palm Beach meeting would go well, but he added that ‘Zelenskyy doesn’t have anything until I approve it’.
‘We’ll see what he’s got,’ the US president said in the comment published Friday.
The engagement will be the sixth meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy this year, with their relations improving since the fiery Oval Office feud on February 28.
This first meeting degenerated into a heated argument, with Trump and JD Vance accusing Zelenskyy of failing to show enough gratitude for US support.
In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, Zelenskyy said the key to peace is ‘pressure on Russia and sufficient, strong support for Ukraine.’
To that end, Carney announced $2.5 billion Canadian (US$1.8 billion) more in economic assistance from his government to help Ukraine rebuild.
Denouncing the ‘barbarism’ of Russia’s latest attacks on Kyiv, Carney credited both Zelenskyy and Trump with creating the conditions for a ‘just and lasting peace’ at a crucial moment.
Trump and Zelenskyy sitting down face-to-face also underscored the apparent progress made by Trump’s top negotiators in recent weeks as the sides traded draft peace plans and continued to shape a proposal to end the fighting.
Zelenskyy told reporters Friday that the 20-point draft proposal negotiators have discussed is ‘about 90 percent ready’ — echoing a figure, and the optimism, that US officials conveyed when Trump’s chief negotiators met with Zelenskyy in Berlin earlier this month.
