By Anthony Marcus for Eurasia Business News, December 29, 2025. Article n°1954
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky just held talks in Florida and both are signaling that negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine have moved into an advanced stage, but key issues remain unresolved. Trump is striking an optimistic tone about being “very close” to a deal, while Zelensky stresses that only most, not all, of the peace framework is agreed.
Ukraine Seeks 50-Year U.S. Security Guarantee, Trump Offers 15 years.
What Trump said
Trump said the United States, Ukraine and Russia are “closer than ever” to an accord and that “a lot of progress” has been made on ending the war.
He described the discussions with Zelensky at Mar‑a‑Lago as “great” and “terrific,” and suggested it could become clear within weeks whether the war can be ended under the emerging plan.
Zelensky’s position
Zelensky said a revised 20‑point peace plan is about “90 percent” agreed, and that security guarantees for Ukraine are essentially fully agreed with the U.S. and allies.
Ukraine Seeks 50-Year U.S. Security Guarantee, Trump Offers 15 years.
He insists that any decisions on Ukrainian territory must ultimately be made by Ukrainian society, possibly through referendums, and has resisted Russia’s maximal territorial demands.
Ukraine is ready to withdraw troops from the front line if Russia does the same, writes the Financial Times. According to the publication’s sources, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky informed European leaders about this during telephone conversations on December 27.
On December 24, Zelensky presented his 20-point peace plan. According to the document, Ukraine will receive security guarantees following the example of Article 5 of the NATO Charter of 1949 (an attack on one party to the treaty is considered an attack on all its participants). Also, Ukrainian forces will not retreat in the Donbass, but will remain “standing where it stands.” Russia, according to the Ukrainian plan, should withdraw from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
Main unresolved issues
The most “thorny” questions concern territory in eastern Ukraine and areas occupied by Russia, including parts of Donbas and regions like Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Proposals under discussion include some form of demilitarized zone and potential Ukrainian troop withdrawal from certain areas, but there is no agreement yet and Russia is still demanding recognition of its claimed annexations.
What the talks could mean
If the current track holds, the outcome could be a deal combining long‑term security guarantees for Ukraine with some form of territorial compromise, though the exact lines and status of occupied regions remain highly contentious.
European partners and many in Kyiv remain skeptical of Vladimir Putin’s intentions, warning that any ceasefire or concession must come with robust enforcement and security mechanisms to prevent a renewed Russian offensive.
In short, Trump and Zelensky are publicly presenting the talks as real progress toward ending the war, but there is still no final peace agreement and the hardest issues—territory and how to lock in security—are still open.
On December 28, the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, held a telephone conversation about the current situation in Ukraine.
European leaders committed on December 18 to lend Ukraine 90 billion euros, or around $105 billion, to help the country keep fighting Russia but failed to agree on a plan to use frozen Russian assets for the loan.
U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly assured that no U.S. troops will be deployed to Ukraine as part of any peace or security arrangement, stating, “You have my assurance—and I’m president” when questioned about sending American soldiers to defend Ukraine’s border against Russia. Trump reiterated this position in a televised interview on August 19.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev traveled to Miami on December 20, to take part in high-level talks on a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. The visit was part of a broader U.S.-brokered diplomatic track linked to President Donald Trump’s emerging peace framework.
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© Copyright 2025 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 1953
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