Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet Trump on Sunday in Florida and told reporters he will bring with him a new 20-point peace plan. The framework of the agreement includes a proposal to create a demilitarized zone, and the meeting will focus on security guarantees from the United States.
However, in the interview, Trump seemed reluctant to Zelensky's latest proposal and was in no hurry to support the Ukrainian president's proposal. “Nothing until I approve it,” Trump said. “So let's see what he has to offer.”
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What proposals will Zelensky bring to his meeting with Trump?
What are the key topics of Trump's meeting with Zelensky?
Is Trump planning to talk to Putin?
Who else will come to meet Trump?
“I think it will go smoothly”
The president's comments underscore the extent to which Ukraine's fate depends on Trump's belief that it is yielding enough to satisfy a president who has at times seemed willing to approach Russia if it meant ending the war. Russia has not deviated much from its maximalist position and has not reacted to the latest proposal. Meanwhile, the United States pressured Zelensky to abandon his original demands, and Trump often appeared to lose patience with negotiations. Nevertheless, he believed that he would be able to conduct a fruitful meeting this weekend.
-I think so [z Zełenskim] everything will go smoothly. “I think everything will go smoothly with Putin,” Trump said, adding that he expected to talk to the Russian leader “soon, as long as I want.”
Trump's comments came a day after Zelensky spoke with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law. Zelensky called the conversation “good.”
This statement also came a day after the United States began airstrikes against ISIS in Nigeria, which the president described on social media as retaliation for the killing of Christians by this militant group “on a scale not seen in many years, even centuries!”
Trump told Politico that the airstrikes were originally scheduled for Wednesday, but the president ordered them delayed by a day — for symbolic reasons. “They were supposed to do it earlier,” he said. — And I said, “No, let's give them a Christmas present.” They didn't expect it, but we hit them hard. Every camp was destroyed, he emphasized.
Trump will meet with Netanyahu
Trump also confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit him this weekend. — Zelensky and Bibi will come. Everyone will come, Trump said. “They respect our country again,” he added. According to an NBC report, Netanyahu will brief Trump on the growing threat from Iran.
Zelensky's meeting, in addition to security guarantees, will concern the management of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and the territorial control of Donbas, the eastern territories claimed by Moscow.
Zelensky's plan, which Ukrainian officials described as an attempt to show flexibility without giving up territory, has received little public reaction in Washington.
Zelensky's offer for a demilitarized zone came with a key condition: Russia would have to withdraw its forces from the relevant area in Donetsk. Russia has given no indication that it is willing to accept anything less than full control of the region, underscoring the gulf between the two sides.
