Donald Trump’s BIG statement after talks with Zelenskyy, says peace deal near, but…

Florida: United States President Doland Trump held a high-level meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday (local time) at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. After the meeting, he stated that the peace deal to end the years-long war between Russia and Ukraine is getting ‘very close’. While addressing reporters, the US President expressed his belief that major progress had been made in the Russia-Ukraine peace deal, stating that discussions were productive and wide-ranging.

What Did Doland Trump Say?

Trump said that the meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart was ‘terrific’ and at the same time he mentioned that he had a good telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We had a terrific meeting. We discussed a lot of things. As you know, I had an excellent phone call with President Putin. It lasted for over two hours. We discussed a lot of points. I do think we’re getting a lot closer, maybe very close. The President and I just spoke to the European leaders… We have made a lot of progress on ending that war, which is probably the deadliest war since World War II…” Trump said.

The US President stated that the peace agreement is “close” but some “thorny” issues remain unresolved.

Some Sensitive Issues Remain Unresolved

Trump highlighted that one of the unresolved issues is very sensitive and linked it to the territory in eastern Ukraine.

When asked about the “thorniest issues”, he said, “The land. Some of that land has been taken… You’re better off making a deal now…”

Not giving a clear picture of how much of the deal has been finalised, he stated that discussions were nearing completion.

“We’re getting closer to an agreement on that. And that’s a big issue,” he said while appearing alongside Zelenskyy. “Certainly, that’s one of the big issues, and I think we’re closer.”

“Everybody wants [the war] ended… I want it ended because I don’t want to see so many people dying,” he said.

What Did President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Say?

After meeting with Trump, Ukrainian President stated that the meeting covered all major aspects of a possible peace settlement.

“…We had great discussions on all the topics, and we appreciate the progress that the American and Ukrainian teams made in these recent weeks… We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework…” Zelenskyy said.

He stated that both sides have already found common ground on multiple fronts.

“There has been 90 per cent agreement on the 20-point peace plan, 100 per cent agreement on US-Ukraine security guarantees, and US-Europe-Ukraine security guarantees are almost agreed. The military dimension is 100 per cent agreed. The Prosperity Plan is being finalised, and we also discussed the sequencing of the following actions,” Zelenskyy said.

“We agreed that security guarantees are a key milestone in achieving lasting peace, and our teams will continue working on all aspects… Ukraine is ready for peace…” he added.

Trump said discussions with Russia, Ukraine and European leaders would continue in the coming days as negotiators work to resolve the remaining issues and move towards a final agreement.

It is to be noted that both Putin and Zelenskyy agreed on a temporary ceasefire, which is proposed by Ukraine and European countries.

US President Trump is likely to have a second round of phone conversation with his Russian counterpart as his approval would be required for further peace talks.

(With ANi Inputs)