Donald Trump has offered Ukraine security guarantees for 15 years as part of a proposed plan to end Russia’s invasion, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
The Ukrainian president said he would prefer a commitment of up to 50 years to deter Moscow from further attempts to seize Ukrainian land.
Mr Trump hosted Mr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and made the claim that Ukraine and Russia were “closer than ever before” to a peace settlement.
Mr Zelenskyy said the security guarantees include how a peace deal would be monitored as well as the “presence” of partners, adding: “Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end.”
Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy says he knows what Kremlin is doing
Negotiators were still looking for a breakthrough on key issues, including whose forces withdraw from which area and the fate of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
On Monday, Mr Trump had “a positive call” with Mr Putin about the war, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X. The two leaders also spoke ahead of Mr Trump’s talks with Mr Zelenskyy on Sunday.
During the call, Mr Putin claimed Ukraine had attempted to attack his residence in northwestern Russia with long-range drones almost immediately after the talks with Mr Zelenskyy.
However, Mr Zelenskyy said the Russian claim was false and said it was an attempt to undermine the peace negotiations, describing it as “another lie” because Moscow is unnerved about progress in the talks.
Speaking at a meeting alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later in the day, Mr Trump said Mr Putin had told him about the purported attack.
“I don’t like it. It’s not good,” Mr Trump said, when asked if he was worried the allegation could affect his efforts to broker peace. “I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it.”
He added: “It’s a delicate period of time. This is not the right time. It’s one thing to be offensive, because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that.”
Asked if there was any evidence for the attack, Mr Trump replied: “We’ll find out.”
Trump would consider extending guarantees, Zelenskyy claims
Meanwhile, Mr Putin claimed Russian troops are advancing in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine and also continuing their offensive in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Kyiv’s allies will meet in Paris in early January to “finalise each country’s concrete contributions” to security guarantees.
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According to Mr Zelenskyy, Mr Trump said he would consider extending US security guarantees beyond 15 years.
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Peace plan to be put to Ukrainians in national referendum
Mr Zelenskyy said any guarantees would be approved by the US Congress as well as parliamentarians in other countries involved in overseeing any settlement, with the 20-point peace plan under discussion to be approved by Ukrainians in a national referendum.
He said holding a ballot would require a ceasefire of at least 60 days.
