US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy said progress had been made to end the Ukraine war during Florida talks. However, the US President admitted the problem of territory remained “unresolved”.
Zelenskyy says a 20-point framework aimed at ending the war with Russia is “90% agreed” after talks with US President Donald Trump in Florida, with security guarantees described as a central element of the emerging plan. The comments were made following a joint appearance at Mar-a-Lago while addressing reporters.
Zelenskyy said the discussions covered “all aspects of the peace framework” and that both sides had agreed on the sequence of next steps. “We achieved significant results,” he said, adding that security guarantees were “key in achieving lasting peace”. He said bilateral US-Ukraine security guarantees were “100% agreed”, while broader guarantees involving European partners were “almost agreed”.
Trump said the negotiations were moving in a “positive” direction and suggested the sides were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an understanding. But he acknowledged that “one or two thorny issues” remained, with territory described as the most difficult part of the talks.
What was agreed
Zelenskyy said the two delegations had reached broad alignment on most elements of the 20-point plan, including political arrangements, security commitments and the sequencing of follow-up steps. He thanked members of both teams for their work, naming US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and Ukrainian officials Rustem Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, in remarks cited by Reuters.
I thank @POTUS Donald Trump for a great meeting. We had a substantive discussion on all issues, and we much appreciate the progress achieved by American and Ukrainian teams in recent weeks. Special thanks to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for their engagement and full… pic.twitter.com/cDAC2LFl6K
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 28, 2025
He also said the sides had agreed that working-level teams would continue negotiations next week to “finalise all discussed matters”. Zelenskyy added that Trump had offered to host Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington in January as part of the next phase of the talks.
Story continues below this ad
Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine was “ready for peace”, but said any agreement must be based on clear principles and reflect the position of the Ukrainian people.
What the 20-point peace plan covers
- Security guarantees: US-Ukraine guarantees “100% agreed”, broader Europe-US-Ukraine guarantees “almost agreed”.
- Military issues: Zelenskyy said the “military dimension” was fully agreed.
- Prosperity and recovery plans: Still being finalised.
What remains unresolved
Despite progress on security arrangements, the issue of territory remains the main obstacle. Trump said some land “may be up for discussion” in the coming months and that differences over areas including the Donbas region would need to be “ironed out”.
Zelenskyy, however, said Ukraine’s stance on territory was “very clear” and grounded in Ukrainian law and the will of its citizens. “We respect the territory which we control,” he said, noting that Kyiv and Moscow still hold “different positions” on the question of land.
Neither leader provided specific details about possible territorial concessions or timelines, and both framed the negotiations as ongoing rather than final. There was no decision on a ceasefire timeline either.
“Our meeting was excellent… we have made a lot of progress on ending that war – by far closer than ever before.” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/22j0LewxmX
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 29, 2025
“We had a substantive conversation on all issues and highly value the progress that the Ukrainian and American teams have made over the past weeks,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Story continues below this ad
Previous talks and what happens next
The latest meeting follows a series of contacts between Ukrainian and US officials over recent months, focused on security support, long-term guarantees and conditions for a potential settlement. Trump said the current track of talks would continue at the technical level, with political discussions to resume once draft proposals are ready.
Zelenskyy said the next round of talks would concentrate on the remaining unresolved points, particularly those linked to territory and international participation in future guarantees. He said Ukraine expected “constructive engagement” from European partners in the coming phase.
