US President Donald Trump hosted his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida to discuss a revised 20-point peace plan. The meeting between the two leaders is among the leading topics in the Western press today.
President Trump said during his conversation with Zelensky that Russia and Ukraine "may be very close" to ending the almost four-year-old war, although Russia rejected some of the conditions set by Ukrainian negotiators, the "New York Times" reports. Zelensky, for his part, indicated that the latest proposal, developed jointly by Ukraine and the United States, is almost complete.
Both leaders stressed that peace talks will continue.
However, significant obstacles remain, the main one being Russian President Vladimir Putin's willingness to join the peace framework being pushed by Kiev and US negotiators, the American newspaper notes.
"He wants it to happen", Trump said, relaying the Russian president's words about his interest in reaching an agreement. The American leader added that he had spoken with Putin for more than two hours before meeting Zelensky. "He told me very categorically. I believe him," Trump said, quoted by the "New York Times".
Nevertheless, Trump seemed determined not to give rise to excessive expectations of a quick agreement while answering journalistic questions, the publication also writes.
Putin's advisers yesterday cooled enthusiasm for some ideas proposed by Kiev and its Western allies, including the proposal to deploy European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. Trump and Zelensky, on the other hand, were laconic in their statements about the disputed Donetsk region - one of the main obstacles that are delaying the negotiations, the "New York Times" added.
The US president gave an overly optimistic assessment of another major obstacle - the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the American publication also writes. According to Trump, Putin has expressed interest in working with the Ukrainians to jointly operate the facility. However, Ukraine has repeatedly stated that it will not cooperate with Russia on joint management of the nuclear power plant, recalls the "New York Times".
Daniel Fried, a former US diplomat with experience in issues related to Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, said that progress in negotiating security guarantees and rebuilding Ukraine is a positive sign. Fried added, however, that this will not matter if Putin ultimately decides not to make any concessions on the issue of the disputed territories.
"There is no evidence that Russia is yet ready to engage in serious negotiations," the US diplomat was quoted by the "New York Times" as saying. "The good news is that the more the US commits to this framework, to this 20-point plan, the harder it may be for Putin to play his usual game of diversion and delay," Fried said.
Despite the positive external effect that the meeting between Trump and Zelensky produced, there are no serious signs that a peace agreement will be signed soon, the British newspaper "Guardian" commented.
The publication quoted Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov as saying that on Sunday Trump "listened carefully" to the Russian assessment of the conflict. According to Ushakov, the two sides agreed that the ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and Europe would only prolong the fighting and also "contains a risk of renewed hostilities".
"Guardian" also touches on some details about the reception of the Ukrainian leader at the Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump met Zelensky on the steps of his residence and greeted him with a businesslike handshake. There was no hug. There were no American officials at the Palm Beach airport, where Zelensky's plane landed. In contrast, in August, Putin was welcomed in Alaska with a red carpet by Trump and an applauding audience, the British newspaper recalls.
Former Ukrainian diplomat Maria Drutska said, quoted by the "Guardian", that Putin's phone call before the meeting between Trump and Zelensky was "sabotage" of the consultations. After a similar conversation with Moscow before the meeting between the US and Ukrainian presidents in October, Trump refused to provide Kiev with long-range Tomahawk missiles, Drutska adds.
The German publication "Süddeutsche Zeitung" focuses on another significant moment on the eve of the meeting between Trump and Zelensky – – "the latest corruption scandal". On December 27, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) brought charges of corruption against Ukrainian MP and chairman of the transport committee Yuriy Kissel and other members of the Verkhovna Rada. In addition, a search was conducted at the headquarters of Zelensky's party – "Servant of the People", writes "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
The German publication also cites an article published by the Ukrainian newspaper "Zerkalo Nedeli", which states that NABU had been wiretapping Kissel for two years. Years ago, Ukrainian MP Anton Polyakov, who died in 2021, claimed that Zelensky's party paid salaries in envelopes: $5,000 to ordinary MPs and $10,000 to $15,000 to chairmen and deputy chairmen of committees, Süddeutsche Zeitung also wrote, citing the Ukrainian publication. According to Zerkalo Nedeli, Serhiy Shefir, a former member of the presidential administration and a close friend of Zelensky, is also involved in the new scandal.
"In fact, there is not much reason for optimism. On the night of Saturday, Russia launched one of its largest drone and missile attacks on Kiev, and thus clearly showed that it is little interested in peace," commented Süddeutsche Zeitung. Also on Saturday, Putin, dressed in uniform, listened to reports from the Chief of the General Staff and other generals on the course of the war and alleged Russian successes in Ukraine. If Kiev is not ready for a peaceful solution (on Moscow's terms), "we will solve all the tasks facing us... with armed means," Putin was quoted as saying by the Süddeutsche Zeitung.