SAEDNEWS: US 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, Xinhua reported.
Asked whether their Sunday talks could lead to a peace deal, Trump said, “It depends — I do believe we have the makings of a deal,” while noting that the Ukraine crisis has been difficult to resolve.
Zelensky said the discussions 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 take step-by-step actions and bring peace closer,” Zelensky said.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump posted on Truth Social that he “had a good and very productive telephone call” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said that during the call, Trump and Putin agreed a temporary ceasefire would only prolong the Ukraine crisis.
The two leaders “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, management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, territorial control of the Donbas region, and security guarantees after the crisis ends.
