The meeting between Trump and Zelensky ended without result

Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump held a joint press conference following talks in Florida.

The Ukrainian president said that the 20 points of the peace plan had been agreed “100%,” and that decisions on all six documents could be made as early as January.

The U.S. president, for his part, said that 95% of issues had been agreed in talks with Ukraine, with 1–2 points remaining to be discussed and that, “if everything goes well, it could take up to a few weeks.” “But things may not go well,” he added, because there were disagreements on some points during the negotiations.

Trump said that in the coming months new Ukrainian territories could be captured, so “it’s better to make a deal now.” He noted that what is being discussed is not a ceasefire, because it is very easy to violate.

“We’ve come very close, although many said it was impossible… We reached a great level of detail,” Trump said.

At the same time, he added that the territorial issue had not been “fully untangled.” On Donbas, “positions still need to be aligned, but it seems to me everything is moving in the right direction,” Trump said.

Zelensky added that “our teams have moved closer,” answering a question about whether Kyiv agrees to a demilitarized zone in Donbas.

He also said that “Ukraine’s Constitution must be observed.” According to Zelensky, “a referendum may be one of the keys to this lock.”

Trump added that “parliament or a referendum must approve this issue.” “But the population is clearly in favor of stopping the fighting,” the U.S. president added.

That is, the U.S. side does not rule out that the deal could be approved by Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada without a referendum.

Zelensky also allowed that parliament could vote for the peace plan without putting the issue to a referendum. At the same time, he made it clear that he would like territorial issues to go through a referendum.

“When we talk about a referendum, we can use it for individual points, for the plan as a whole, or not use a referendum at all. It’s one of the keys. There is an option to vote in parliament or hold a referendum. If the plan is difficult for our society, then of course society must vote and choose. This is the land of our people, of many generations,” the Ukrainian president said.

Trump then took the floor and likewise said that it is possible either to hold a referendum or to vote in the Rada.

The United States will create a working group on Ukraine that will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and General Dan Caine. Ukrainian representatives may also join them. The group’s goal will be negotiations with Russia.

Earlier, the Kremlin also announced the creation of working groups following today’s conversation between Putin and Trump.

Trump said that “Europe will take on most of the security guarantees for Ukraine.”

“We spoke with Putin about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. And he is ready to work together with Ukraine, ready to make it open,” Trump said.

“Russia wants to see Ukraine successful. Putin has been very generous for Ukraine’s success—for example by selling energy at low prices… Russia is ready to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine,” Trump said.