Zelensky and Trump to meet in Florida after weeks of intensive peace talks

West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives here Sunday as his frozen capital of Kyiv comes under assault by Russian missiles and drones, a deadly reminder from the war’s aggressor that its attacks would continue even amid accelerated peace talks.

The 1 p.m. ET Mar-a-Lago meeting between Zelensky and President Donald Trump, announced only two days beforehand, is intended to close gaps in the original 28-point peace plan that Trump first proposed last month and which Ukraine has since revised to 20 points. Intensive work has been underway by American envoys to finalize a proposal both Ukraine and Russia can agree on.

Trump, who has been in Palm Beach since December 20, will interrupt his holiday break for the discussion. The meeting was arranged after Zelensky held an hourlong phone call late last week with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s foreign envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law who is working to finalize the peace agreement.

Trump said earlier this month he didn’t think meetings with Zelensky or his European allies would be useful unless they were close to reaching a deal, a sign of the negotiations’ advanced stage. American officials have described significant progress in the peace efforts, with a US official saying earlier this month that 90% of the terms of the deal had been settled. Zelensky affirmed that figure Friday.

“It isn’t easy. No one is saying that it will be 100% right away, but nevertheless, we must bring the desired result closer with every such meeting, every such conversation,” he said.

The remaining 10% have proved difficult to resolve and include the thorny issue of land concessions that will be necessary to end the nearly four-year war. Russia has not backed off its maximalist demands, including that Ukraine surrender the entire eastern Donbas region.

Zelensky, however, is no longer ruling out concessions entirely, and says he would bring the peace plan up for a referendum if Russia agrees to a ceasefire. (Ukraine’s constitution requires any changes to the country’s borders to be approved in a referendum.)

The US side has offered “thought-provoking” ideas on how to resolve the impasse, one US official said, including the development of an “economic free zone” in the eastern part of Ukraine.

Also unresolved is the fate of the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest. Zelensky said Kyiv proposes the plant be operated by a joint enterprise between the US and Ukraine, with 50% of the electricity output going to Ukraine and the remainder allocated by the US.

Russia will not be represented at Sunday’s meeting, and it remains unclear whether Moscow is willing to agree to an immediate ceasefire that would allow a peace plan to take hold. Trump has frequently pointed to both Ukraine and Russia as obstacles to peace.

Speaking a day before the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “if Kyiv is not willing to resolve the matter peacefully, Russia will accomplish all the aims of the special military operation by military means,” using a euphemism for the war in Ukraine, according to Russian state media service TASS.

Russia launched 519 drones and 40 missiles at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to Ukraine’s air force. Zelensky said Saturday morning that while Russian officials are engaging in talks to end fighting, the ongoing violence speaks for itself.

American officials are hopeful the meeting Sunday will be productive after a week of intensive efforts between US and Ukrainian negotiators, according to US officials, though they did not cite a specific goal for the meeting.

Zelensky said ahead of the meeting he wants to conclude a framework to end the conflict, including nailing down the specifics of security guarantees from the United States to ensure Russia isn’t able to invade further once the war ends.

A set of security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5 was hammered out over two days of discussions in Berlin earlier this month between officials from Europe, Ukraine and the United States. They would allow for deterrence from further Russian aggression, deconfliction mechanisms and monitoring of an eventual peace deal. They would also spell out the consequences for Russia if it violates the agreement.

“This is the most robust set of security protocols they have ever seen. It is a very, very strong package,” a senior US official said, without detailing exactly what the US was promising. Trump is willing to bring the US-backed security guarantees before Congress, a second official said, describing the package as the “platinum standard” for what Washington can offer Ukraine.

Trump believes he can get Moscow to accept the guarantees, and the officials also said Russia had indicated openness to Ukraine joining the European Union as part of any peace agreement.

Sunday’s meeting is not expected to include any European leaders, according to US and European officials, unlike previous meetings between the two presidents. In August, European leaders rushed to the White House to accompany Zelensky after a February Oval Office session with Trump turned acrimonious.

Trump said in an interview with Politico on Friday that he expects the meeting with Zelensky to “go good,” but cautioned that the Ukrainian president “doesn’t have anything until I approve it.”

The Ukrainians have been pushing for a meeting between Zelensky and Trump since they last met in October. European officials said they expected a positive meeting, describing the current dynamic between the US and Ukraine as productive.

Still, they acknowledged the outcome of any meeting with Trump is unpredictable.

“There is no low-risk scenario with Trump,” said one NATO official.

The-CNN-Wire
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