DONALD Trump saluted the bravery of Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky and his people as he claimed to be on the brink of brokering a peace deal today.
The US President chaired crunch talks with Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and claimed Ukraine would soon be guaranteed both security and prosperity.
Trump called the talks “terrific” and said he had “made a lot of progress” towards a deal.
He said: “I just think we’re doing very well. We could be very close or one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues. But I think we’re doing very well.
“We’ve made a lot of progress today, but really we’ve made it over the last month. This is not a one-day process deal. There’s very complicated stuff.”
Asked about bring Ukraine and Russia together for talks, Trump said he could see a trilateral meeting happening “at the right time”.
The thorniest issue yet to be resolved is land, the US president said.
Trump told the Ukrainian leader: “You’re better off making a deal now.”
He said: “I think the land you’re talking about, some of that land has been taken.
“Some of that land is maybe 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.”
Before the talks, Trump said he had the “makings of a deal that’s good for Ukraine, good for everybody”.
He added that European nations, including the UK, backed a revised 20-point plan and that Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin was also “serious about peace”.
Hopes were high for peace in Europe, as the US president said a deal to end the war in Ukraine was in its “final stages”.
The leaders have now finished talks, but before they entered the residence, Trump said that he thought a “rapid” end to the war was possible, telling reporters: “we’ll get it done”.
After the talks, Trump said the war could end in as little as “few weeks”, but would not commit to a deadline.
He said: “In a few a weeks we will know one way or the other.”
Putin has yet to make any concessions to halt the killing. Trump warned ominously that if the near-four-year war does not end soon it will go on for a long time — and that millions more would die.
He said: “Too many people have died and I think both presidents want to make a deal.
“It will either end or it will go on for a long time and millions of additional people are going to be dead. And nobody wants that.
“I believe we can move very rapidly.”
He added that a deal will include a “strong” security agreement for Ukraine, saying that “European nations are very much involved”.
Trump said: “I feel that European nations have been really great, and they’re very much in line with this meeting and with getting a deal done. They are all terrific people.”
Greeting the Ukrainian leader, the US president said: “This gentleman has worked very hard, and is very brave, and his people are very brave.”
Zelensky said he hoped the meeting could “bring peace as quick as possible”.
An updated 20-point peace draft in the campaign to clinch a peace plan is 90 per cent complete, Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv before flying to the US.
The Ukrainian leader said the Mar-a-Lago meeting concerned how to move the 20-point plan forward and could include discussion of possible territorial concessions.
The new plan still needs the approval of Russia, and differs from the original 28-point peace plan that was proposed by Washington.
Speaking after talks, Zelensky said his attitude to the Donbas was “very clear”.
He said Ukraine has “a different position to Russia” on the region, adding that his country must “respect our law and our people”, and the “territory which we control”.
The Ukrainian leader thanked Trump for what he called a “wonderful meeting” at Mar-a-Lago.
He said on Telegram: “We had a meaningful discussion on all issues and highly appreciate the progress made by the Ukrainian and American teams over the past few weeks.
“We discussed all aspects of the peace framework and achieved significant results.
“We agree that security guarantees are key to achieving lasting peace.”
He added that Ukrainian and US teams will meet next week to “finalise all discussed issues”.
Inside the talks, photos showed the Ukrainian delegation sat on the left side of a large dining table, facing US officials.
As Zelensky told the room it was his first time at Mar-a-Lago, Trump replied that the residence was “very conducive to deals”.
The US President said efforts to end the war were in the “final stages”.
As the group sat down, he added: “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.”
Trump said ending the Ukraine-Russia war would be “complicated”, but “not that complicated”, in an optimistic start to talks.
Trump added that Ukraine could get “great economic benefits” from a peace deal.
He said: “There are great economic benefits for Ukraine also because, you know, there is a lot of rebuilding to do.
“There’s a lot of wealth to be had and they have great wealth, potentially great wealth.
“They want to get started. There’s a great economic benefit for Ukraine.”
The president’s delegation includes his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles are also in attendance.
Before the meeting, Trump and Putin had a phone call which the president described on Truth Social as “very good and productive”.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the call was “friendly” and lasted over an hour.
Ushakov added that Russia had urged Ukraine to take what it called the “brave decision” to pull its troops out of the Donbas “without delay” to end the war.
Ukraine‘s exit from the area is a key Russian demand for any peace agreement.
The Kremlin aide said: “Russia and the United States share the same position, which is that the Ukrainian and European proposal for a temporary ceasefire … would only prolong the conflict and lead to a resumption of hostilities.”
The Putin-Trump chat came just hours before the US president met Zelensky for the first time since October.
Last time the pair met, Trump refused to grant Zelensky’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.
Trump’s Putin-facing positivity persisted, despite the fact that many European leaders doubted the possibility of peace.
Russian forces had unleashed hell on the Ukrainian capital in the run up to Zelensky’s summit with Trump.
Putin hit Kyiv with almost 500 drones and 40 missiles in a 10-hour onslaught which has killed two and wounded dozens.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15702035/trump-zelensky-ukraine-peace-talks-putin-call/
