Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting Donald Trump today in Florida to advocate for Ukraine and to try to secure the US president’s agreement on the latest version of a peace plan aimed at ending the war with Russia, which has been raging for almost four years.
The Ukrainian President, arriving in the US with his latest proposals on the sensitive issue of territory, will have “nothing until I approve it,” the American President told Politico on Friday, setting the parameters.
Donald Trump, however, said, “I think it will go well with him. I think it will go well with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” with whom he expects to meet “soon.”
Zelensky, for his part, expressed hope on Saturday during a stop in Canada that the meeting would be “very constructive,” having previously consulted with his European partners.
They reassured him of their “full support,” according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. In Canada, Zelensky secured new financial assistance of 2.5 billion Canadian dollars (€1.5 billion) from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
'Everyone is coming'
Donald Trump will receive Volodymyr Zelensky at 13:00 local time (20:00 Cyprus time) at Mar-a-Lago.
This private residence in Palm Beach, where the 79-year-old Republican spends the holidays, has become something of an annex of the White House. It is also expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
“Everyone is coming,” the host said, according to Politico.
The previous meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders, held in October when Zelensky unsuccessfully requested Tomahawk missiles from Trump, was not particularly warm.
The Florida summit follows Zelensky’s presentation of a new version of the US plan, designed to end the war, which was amended after consultations with Ukraine, much to Moscow’s annoyance.
Trump's disappointment
After an initial draft that accepted many Russian claims, the Kremlin considers the latest version as an attempt by Kyiv to “torpedo” the negotiations.
On the eve of the Florida meeting, Moscow launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region, killing two people and leaving over a million households without electricity.
“This attack shows Russia’s response to our efforts for peace,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
Donald Trump has openly expressed frustration with the prolonged negotiations. “He is very disappointed with both sides,” his spokesperson Caroline Levitt said on 11 December.
On 19 December, the US President had pressed Ukraine to “move.”
Will Volodymyr Zelensky convince him to deliver such a message to Moscow, given that the latest version of the plan appears unacceptable to the Russians?
The 20-point document proposes freezing positions on the front line without addressing Russia’s demand for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from roughly 20% of the eastern Donetsk region that remains under their control.
The new text also no longer includes any legal obligation for Ukraine not to join NATO, another key Kremlin demand.
In addition to the fate of Donbas, the eastern Ukrainian region claimed by Moscow, and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant under Russian occupation in the south, the two leaders are expected to discuss security guarantees that Western powers could provide as part of a peace agreement.
“These security guarantees must come simultaneously with the end of the war,” Zelensky emphasised on Saturday.
The US President has recently suggested that Ukraine has every interest in freezing the front line against the Russian advance, which he considers inevitable.
“Russia has the advantage. And it always has,” he said on 8 December.
However, peace must preserve Ukraine’s “sovereignty” and “territorial integrity,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed on Saturday after a phone call with Zelensky.
In an interview with the Tass news agency broadcast early this morning, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that “the European Union has become the main obstacle to peace.”
On the ground, the Ukrainian military command reported a “massive Russian rocket attack from multiple launchers” overnight in Kherson, noting that fires broke out in infrastructure and residential areas.
CNA