Trump hails ‘terrific’ Ukraine peace plan meeting with Zelensky and claims ‘a lot of progress’ made

The two leaders gave little away during a press conference following the discussions, but Mr Trump said he believed “a lot of progress” had been made.

European leaders, including UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, also had a one-hour call with the pair as part of the negotiations, which president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said was “good”, adding: “Europe is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our US partners.”

However, the US president's call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin shortly beforehand suggested obstacles to peace remain.

Mr Zelensky said “great achievements” had been made following the talks, including “100 per cent” agreements on security guarantees between the US and Ukraine. He added security guarantees between the US, Europe, and Ukraine were “almost” agreed.

But Mr Trump described territorial issues, including contested regions such as Donbas and Zaporizhzhia, as “thorny” and yet to be agreed.

The Ukrainian leader shook hands with Mr Trump on the steps of the Florida residence shortly after 1pm local time [1900 GMT] as the US president told reporters: “We’ll get it done,” and added: "I do think we have the makings of a deal... We are in the final stages of talking.”

Mr Trump said he would be speaking to Mr Putin following the meeting, as he described both Russia and Ukraine as “willing countries”.

A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir “emphasised the UK’s commitment to working closely with partners to sustain momentum in the coming days” during the call with other leaders.

The Russian president may have been physically absent from the talks, but his influence was felt distinctly. Mr Trump said he had a “very productive” call with Mr Putin over the phone ahead of the crunch negotiations – conversations Moscow said took place at the US leader’s request.

Later, Kremlin spokesperson Yury Ushakov said the pair had a “broadly similar view” that any temporary ceasefire would “prolong the conflict”, and urged Ukraine to make a decision over the Donbas region “without delay”.

Prior to the meeting, Mr Zelensky made it clear "territorial issues" would remain a key point as Moscow and Kyiv are still divided over the fate of the highly coveted Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky said that while these have been “some of the most active diplomatic days of the year”, plenty would “depend on the partners” and whether or not they would put pressure on Moscow.

President Trump told Politico on Friday that Mr Zelensky “doesn’t have anything until I approve it”, as he continues to regulate negotiations between the warring countries. He also said he expected to speak with Mr Putin “as much as I want”.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Moscow had been in contact with the US. "It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue," he said.

Ahead of the meeting, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that, as talks of security guarantees continue, any European troop contingents deployed to Ukraine would become legitimate targets for Russia’s armed forces.

In remarks published by Russia’s state news agency Tass, Mr Lavrov, without evidence, accused European politicians of being driven by “ambitions” in their relations with Kyiv and disregarding the ‌people of ​Ukraine and their own nations.

Russia’s president applied pressure on Saturday with a timely barrage of almost 500 drones and 40 missiles on Kyiv, where two people died while dozens were admitted to hospital, including two children.

Ukraine’s capital faced large-scale power cuts that left citizens without heating during the sub-zero winter temperatures.

In a meeting with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, Mr Zelensky said the key to peace is “pressure on Russia and sufficient, strong support for Ukraine”. To that end, Mr Carney announced more economic assistance from his government to help Ukraine rebuild.

Mr Carney denounced the "barbarism" of Russia's latest attacks on Kyiv and credited both Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump with creating the conditions for a "just and lasting peace" at a crucial moment.

“Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war," Mr Zelensky posted on X on Saturday. "We need to be strong at the negotiating table."