U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelenski discussed the Russian conflict in a two hours long Sunday meeting at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump said that after addressing “a lot of points,” he believes they are “getting a lot closer” to a peace deal, although the Donbass matter is not yet sorted out.
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Zelenski commented on the possibility of holding a popular referendum in Ukraine regarding what he frames as territorial concessions. Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia are part of Russia since 2022 following local referendums in each of these regions.
“We and the Russians have completely different positions here. When we talk about a referendum, we say that it is one of the keys. There can be a referendum, any referendum, in general, on any of the points of this plan. We can use a referendum for the plan as a whole or not use a referendum. This is just one of the keys,” Zelenski said.
Earlier, the Ukrainian president underscored that he was ready to put a peace plan to a referendum if a ceasefire is implemented for at least 60 days.
Happening Now—President Trump welcomes Zelensky to Mar-a-Lago… pic.twitter.com/Meye6YMuUu
— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) December 28, 2025
Trump further asserted that resolving the conflict in Ukraine could bring significant benefits to Kiev. He explained that Ukraine stands to gain substantial economic advantages from the extensive reconstruction required, noting that considerable wealth is available and that Ukrainians themselves possess significant resources.
Prior to the Kiev-Washington exchange, Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin where the U.S. leader “paid close attention to Russia’s assessment of the realistic prospects for an agreement,” said Aide to the Russian President Yury Ushakov.
According to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Putin and Trump agreed to speak again by telephone promptly after the US President’s meeting with the Ukrainian delegation.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.