A screen shot taken from a video released by the White House shows U.S. President Donald Trump meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the United States, Dec. 28, 2025. The two leaders met in Florida on Sunday on the latest draft of a peace plan aimed at ending the Ukraine crisis. (Xinhua)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday refused to say whether he expects a peace deal over the Ukraine crisis to be reached by the end of 2025.
“I don’t have deadlines. You know what my deadline is? Getting the war ended,” Trump told reporters at the start of his meeting with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Asked whether their Sunday talks will lead to a peace deal, Trump said: “It depends — I do believe we have the makings of a deal,” noting that the Ukraine crisis has proved difficult to solve.
Zelensky said his talks with Trump will focus on the latest draft of a 20-point peace plan and the sequencing of a settlement.
“It’s very important our teams talk about strategy — how to make step-by-step, and to bring peace closer,” Zelensky said.
Ahead of the meeting with Zelensky, Trump said on Truth Social that he “had a good and very productive telephone call” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the phone call, Trump and Putin agreed that a temporary ceasefire would only prolong the Ukraine crisis, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said.
The two presidents “hold broadly similar views that the temporary ceasefire proposed by the Ukrainians and Europeans, under the pretext of preparing for a referendum or other pretexts, will only prolong the conflict and risk a resumption of hostilities,” Ushakov said.
During the Florida talks, Trump and Zelensky are expected to discuss possible ceasefire arrangements, a proposed demilitarized zone, the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, territorial control of the Donbas region, and security guarantees following the end of the crisis. ■
This file photo shows a view of the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Florida on Sunday on the latest draft of a peace plan aimed at ending the Ukraine crisis. (Xinhua)
