After the meeting this Sunday (12/28) between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, in the United States, the territorial question continues to be one of the main blocking points in reaching a consensus.
Russia continues to demand concessions from Ukraine and the incorporation of Donbass in the east. Zelesnky said this Monday (29) that he had asked the United States for “robust” security guarantees, with periods exceeding 15 years against the Russians.
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Despite the points of friction which seem to make a lasting commitment in the short term unfeasible, US President Donald Trump said this Sunday he was “very close” to a peace agreement with Ukraine, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
Although Trump is optimistic, no deadline has been set for putting into practice the points mentioned in the peace plan announced by the United States on November 28 and amended several times. In a conversation with reporters after the meeting, attended by European leaders by telephone, Trump and Zelensky admitted that there were still several significant differences between the Russians and Ukrainians, primarily over territorial issues.
The main difficulty concerns Donbass, made up of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which remains unresolved. The area is claimed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who claims historical ties and Soviet heritage. But according to the Ukrainian Constitution, the territory belongs to Ukraine.
Before the meeting, Zelensky hoped to convince the US president to soften one of the main proposals of the peace plan, which includes the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donbass region, which would mean ceding areas still controlled by kyiv to Moscow.
Since the start of the war in February 2022, Russia has seized around 12% of Ukrainian territory, after annexing the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Trump and Zelensky admitted this Sunday that the future of Donbass is still uncertain. “It’s not solved, but we’re getting closer,” Trump said. “It’s a very difficult question,” he added, after emphasizing that there remained “one or two delicate points.”
The United States has proposed creating a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the region, but how it would work, in practice, was unclear. Despite the difficulties, “the outcome of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine should come in the coming weeks,” said the American president, who also spoke on the telephone with Vladimir Putin before receiving Zelensky and indicated that he would call the Russian president back.
Security guarantees
In a social media post, Zelensky said “significant progress” had taken place in recent weeks in discussions between the U.S. and Ukrainian teams. He said the meetings outlined the next steps that would make Trump’s proposed 20-point plan viable.
Zelensky claims to have reached an agreement on the security guarantees that would be offered to Ukraine, but Trump has said the issue is “95% resolved” and expects the Europeans to assume “a large part” of those guarantees, with support from the United States.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States had offered Ukraine “robust” security guarantees for a period of 15 years that could be extended. He said he asked Washington for a longer delay during his meeting with Donald Trump on Sunday.
“I really wish these guarantees were longer and that we had considered the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years,” Zelensky said during an online news conference. According to him, the American president will analyze this possibility. He also indicated that he would hold a new meeting in Ukraine “in the coming days” with American and European leaders.
After the meeting between Trump and Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron recognized progress in security guarantees in the X and announced a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in early January, in Paris, “to finalize the concrete contributions of everyone”.
Zelensky and Trump also did not provide details on agreements regarding Ukraine’s security after the end of the conflict. On Monday, Ukraine’s president said he would only suspend martial law, which primarily bars Ukrainian men eligible for military service from leaving the country, after the war with Russia ends and security guarantees are obtained.
Moscow insists that any deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine would be unacceptable. According to the Ukrainian leader, any peace deal must be approved by the country’s parliament or by referendum, and Trump said he was ready to address parliament in kyiv.
Zelensky announced that a meeting between Ukrainian and American representatives would take place next week, in addition to another meeting in January in Washington with Trump and European leaders. The meeting between Trump and the Ukrainian president took place after several weeks of diplomatic efforts, particularly on the part of the Europeans, sometimes excluded from the process led by Washington.
Europe is seeking security guarantees for kyiv backed by the United States. “Europe is ready to continue its collaboration with Ukraine and its American partners in order to consolidate progress towards a peace agreement,” declared the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the night of Sunday to Monday.
Conversation with Putin
Shortly before the Ukrainian delegation arrived in Florida, Trump spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US head of state described the meeting as “very productive”, and a Kremlin adviser said the tone between the two leaders was “cordial”. The discussion lasted one hour and fifteen minutes.
During the call, Putin said the proposal for a 60-day truce, put forward by Ukraine and the European Union, would only prolong the war, according to Yuri Uchakov. kyiv must quickly take a “courageous decision” on Donbass, added the foreign policy adviser to the Russian presidency.
Over the weekend, the Russian military intensified its airstrikes against Ukraine and hit the capital and other parts of the country with hundreds of missiles and drones on Sunday. Heating and electricity were cut off in some areas of kyiv.
Zelensky described the Russian attacks as Moscow’s response to Washington-led peace talks. Trump, however, said he believed Putin was “sincere” in his intentions to achieve peace.
New territories
As for the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, the American administration has proposed that Russia and Ukraine share control.
At the site, work to repair power lines has begun following a new local ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency said on Sunday.
According to Trump, negotiators have made progress in negotiations on the plant, which can “resume operations almost immediately,” he said. Putin warned on Saturday that Russia would continue its military offensive in Ukraine if kyiv did not want to achieve a quick peace. The Russian army, which has advanced on the front line in recent months, claimed this Sunday to seize new Ukrainian regions.
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