US President Donald Trump has said that talks to end the war in Ukraine are in their “final stages”, as he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida on Sunday.
Trump has insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to make a peace deal, following a phone call with him shortly before his meeting with Zelensky.
Trump met with the Ukrainian president outside his Mar-a-Lago residence as he claimed the two warring parties were close to a deal.
“Both leaders want this to end,” Trump said, adding, “I think we can move very quickly. Otherwise it will go on for a very long time.”
Trump praised Zelensky, saying that “this gentleman has worked very hard and is very brave, and his people are very brave.”
“I think we have all the conditions for an agreement. We have two countries ready. We are in the final stages of negotiations,” the American president said.
Speaking to reporters, the two leaders discussed the latest version of a 20-point peace plan and the unresolved issue of the future of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Alongside Trump, Zelensky said that US and Ukrainian negotiators had made good progress in recent weeks, with “90%” of the draft already agreed upon.
Meanwhile, Trump has stated that the Donbas issue has not yet been resolved.
The main topics of the talks include security guarantees to prevent Russia from attacking again, but the US president has said he believes Putin is serious about peace.
A reporter asked Trump during the conference whether Russia would have any responsibility to help rebuild Ukraine.
“They will help. Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” he declared.
The American leader has also said that a trilateral US-Ukrainian-Russian meeting could happen at the right time.
