Donald Trump has said his Ukraine peace plan is being “fine-tuned” – and only a few “points of disagreement” remain.
The president confirmed two senior US officials will be holding separate meetings with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the proposals.
On Truth Social, Mr Trump wrote that he is being briefed on the progress made and hopes “PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!”
He added: “I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL, or in its final stages.”
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The chief of Ukraine’s presidential staff, Andriy Yermak, later confirmed he had spoken to US army secretary Daniel Driscoll, who is due to travel to Kyiv this week.
Mr Yermak wrote: “Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to peace. We are grateful to the US for all its support. The meeting between the presidents will be thoroughly and promptly prepared on our part.”
Zelenskyy warns against ‘behind our back’ deal
Yesterday, a virtual “coalition of the willing” meeting that featured Ukraine’s allies took place, which was attended by US secretary of state Marco Rubio.
In a speech, Mr Zelenskyy told attendees: “We firmly believe security decisions about Ukraine must include Ukraine, security decisions about Europe must include Europe.
“Because when something is decided behind the back of a country or its people, there is always a high risk it simply won’t work.”
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A joint statement from coalition leaders Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Friedrich Merz said they had agreed with Mr Rubio “to accelerate joint work” with the US on the planning of security guarantees for Ukraine.
But a Ukrainian diplomat has warned major sticking points remain in the peace deal being thrashed out – primarily the prospect of territorial concessions.
A warning from the Kremlin
Meanwhile, Moscow has stressed that it will not allow any agreement to stray too far from its own objectives.
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned any amended peace plan must reflect the understanding reached between Mr Trump and Mr Putin over the summer.
“If the spirit and letter of Anchorage is erased in terms of the key understandings we have established then, of course, it will be a fundamentally different situation,” he said, referring to the two leaders’ meeting in Alaska.
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As negotiations continue, so have Russian attacks, with Kyiv hit by a barrage of missiles and hundreds of drones early yesterday morning.
Seven people were killed with power and heating systems disrupted, as residents sheltered underground.
Meanwhile, three people died and homes were damaged after Ukraine launched an attack on southern Russia.
‘A critical juncture’
French President Emmanuel Macron has said peace efforts are gathering momentum, but “are clearly at a critical juncture”.
And during the annual White House turkey pardon ahead of Thanksgiving, Mr Trump told reporters: “I think we’re getting close to a deal. We’ll find out.
“I thought that would have been an easier one, but I think we’re making progress.”
