US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday (December 28, 2025) that both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to negotiate as part of a “working group” made up of their key partners to conclude a peace agreement on the conflict in Ukraine “in the coming weeks”.
Trump, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he met at the Mar-a-Lago residence, Florida, announced that the US working group will include envoy Steve Witkoff, the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan “Raizin” Caine.
The American leader reiterated that Ukraine and Russia are “closer” to an agreement on the status of the disputed Donbas territory, although the situation remains complex.
“Ukraine will be bringing very good people who were at lunch today (at Mar-a-Lago),” added Trump, who had received Kremlin approval of the mediation in an earlier conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a press appearance with Trump, Zelensky assured that he hoped that with this working group “we will make decisions in January on six working documents” that will clarify differences over the ceasefire, security guarantees for Kiev from NATO and Europe, and the future of the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian territories in Donbass.
Putin agreed to the proposal
Neither Zelensky nor Trump made it clear whether they agreed to advance the possibility of creating a free trade zone in Donbas or limit themselves to guaranteeing a demilitarized zone, although they assured that they had made progress today in resolving one of the most complex points of the peace agreement.
As the Kremlin said in a statement, in the more than hour-long conversation with Trump this Sunday, Putin “agreed to the American proposal to resolve the situation in Ukraine by setting up working groups. One that will be responsible for the security dimension, another for economic issues.”
Trump emphasized that it was “important to emphasize that the working group will also work with Russia, because if we do that among ourselves, we will not solve the problem.”
mg (efe, CNN)
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