President Donald Trump on Sunday welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his Mar-a-Lago resort and said that he had a "productive" call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Trump's latest attempt to end the war between the two countries.
"I do believe that we have the makings of a deal that is good for Ukraine, good for everybody," Trump said after greeting Zelenskyy face-to-face in brief remarks ahead of the talks. The two men then disappeared behind the heavy gated doors of Mar-a-Lago.
Earlier Sunday in a Truth Social post, Trump said he had a "good and very productive telephone call" with Putin ahead of the peace talks with Zelenskyy. Trump told reporters on Sunday that he planned on calling Putin again after the conclusion of the meeting with Zelenskyy.
The high-stakes conversations come at a key moment in efforts to end nearly four years of war initiated when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
Zelenskyy, who arrived in Florida early Sunday, has said the two leaders plan to talk about economic and security agreements and the "territorial issues" that remain major sticking points between Russia and Ukraine.
While Zelenskyy told reporters this week that a 20-point peace proposal is roughly 90% ready, it's unclear if the outcome of the peace talks would be acceptable to Putin. Chief obstacles to an agreement with Russia include the Donbas areas most highly coveted by Putin, U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, and the status of Europe's largest nuclear plant.
Moscow has reportedly made advances on the battlefield in recent months, claiming control over more regions of eastern Ukraine, and their officials have repeatedly insisted that Ukraine give up all of the Donbas, even parts that are still under Kyiv's control.
On Saturday, Russia hit Ukraine's capital and other parts of the country with hundreds of missiles and drones, knocking out power and heat in parts of the capital, according to Reuters. Zelenskyy called it Russia's response to the U.S.-brokered peace efforts.
The peace proposal includes calls for a Ukrainian vote on ceding disputed territory to Russia, as well as a demilitarized "free economic zone" in Donetsk, the capital and largest city in part of the larger Donbas region.
Zelenskyy on Sunday pointed to the attacks on his country's energy infrastructure amid the peace efforts and indicated that part of his motivation was to maintain pressure on Russia, including sanctions and defense technology for Ukraine.
"These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year right now, and a lot can be decided before the New Year," Zelenskyy said on social media platform X. "We are doing everything toward this, but whether decisions will be made depends on our partners — those who help Ukraine, and those who put pressure on Russia so that Russians feel the consequences of their own aggression."
Earlier Sunday, a Kremlin official said that the U.S. and Russian leaders were aligned in opposing a temporary ceasefire amid talks and hinted that Ukraine needed to make a "bold decision" regarding the Donbas region for the war to end.
"The main thing is that the presidents of Russia and the United States hold similar views that the option of a temporary ceasefire proposed by the Ukrainians and the Europeans under the pretext of preparing for a referendum or under other pretexts only leads to a prolongation of the conflict," Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin foreign policy aide, told Reuters.
In his Truth Social post, Trump said his meeting with Zelenskyy would be held in the main dining room at his Mar-a-Lago resort, with media present.
In February, a meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy over possible mineral deals between the countries devolved into a public spectacle, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance accusing Zelenskyy of being "disrespectful" to the U.S. president.
