Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky plans to use his face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump in Florida this Sunday to try to resolve key disputes over a US-brokered peace framework for ending the war with Russia The WP Times, reports, citing The Wall Street Journal.
The meeting, scheduled for 28 December at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, comes at a critical moment in negotiations being brokered by Washington between Kyiv and Moscow. Zelensky has been pushing for a direct leader-to-leader format after months of talks between diplomats and security officials failed to close fundamental gaps.
According to the WSJ, Zelensky requested the meeting specifically to address disputes over a 20-point peace draft that is currently being discussed between the United States and Ukraine — including issues related to territorial control in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader is expected to argue that any settlement must safeguard Ukraine’s sovereignty over Donbas and ensure long-term security guarantees, while also addressing the status of strategically sensitive sites such as the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Europe preparing for the outcome — but not in the room
Zelensky has said he plans to coordinate closely with European allies before the meeting to determine how they will be involved in any follow-up negotiations. While European leaders are not expected to attend the Florida meeting in person, Ukrainian officials have indicated that online participation from Europe is likely. CNN reported that European governments are privately hoping for a breakthrough but are also preparing for volatile scenarios, reflecting the unpredictable dynamics surrounding Trump’s approach to diplomacy.
One NATO official told the network: “With Trump, there are no low-risk scenarios.”
Western diplomats have confirmed that Kyiv has been urging Washington for months to arrange talks at the highest political level, arguing that only direct engagement between Zelensky and Trump could unblock stalled negotiations.
Washington expects a high-stakes encounter
US officials quoted by CNN said they hope the meeting will prove productive after a week of intensive negotiationsbetween American and Ukrainian teams. However, expectations remain cautious, given the scale of disagreements still separating the parties. Trump has signalled in recent weeks that he wants to accelerate a settlement, but his views on territorial compromises and security guarantees differ sharply from Kyiv’s position. Zelensky has already made clear that territorial issues will be non-negotiable from Ukraine’s perspective. He plans to raise both Donbas and the future of Zaporizhzhia directly with Trump during the talks.
Moscow watching closely
The Kremlin has reacted nervously to reports about the meeting. Russian officials have publicly stated that Zelensky’s 20-point peace plan is “radically different” from the version Moscow is discussing with US intermediaries. That divergence highlights how far apart the sides remain, even as pressure grows for a diplomatic outcome after nearly four years of full-scale war.
The Florida meeting is therefore being seen across Europe and Washington as a pivotal test of whether Trump and Zelensky can narrow those gaps — or whether talks will once again stall at the level of irreconcilable demands.
What the 20-point plan covers
The draft peace framework under discussion between Washington and Kyiv is intended to stabilise the battlefield while creating a pathway towards a negotiated settlement. Western officials describe it as a package combining military de-escalation, territorial management and long-term security arrangements.
It is understood to include:
- a ceasefire monitored by international observers along existing front lines
- the creation of demilitarised buffer zones
- Ukrainian administrative control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
- the exchange of prisoners of war and the return of deported civilians
- phased talks on the future of occupied areas in Donbas
- binding security guarantees from the US and European allies
- a multi-year reconstruction fund for Ukraine
- conditional easing of sanctions on Russia linked to compliance
- a political roadmap for Ukraine’s eventual EU and Nato integration
Russia has been seeking formal recognition of territorial gains and limits on Ukraine’s armed forces, demands that Kyiv has so far rejected as incompatible with its sovereignty.
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