Zelensky Says He’ll Meet With Trump in the ‘Near Future’

There was no immediate confirmation from the White House about a meeting, which President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has sought since the latest U.S.-.led push for peace got underway.President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has acknowledged major sticking points in talks on a peace plan for Ukraine.Credit...Tetiana Dzhafarova/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDec. 26, 2025, 5:32 a.m. ETPresident Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Friday that he would meet soon with President Trump, as Ukraine and the United States try to keep momentum going in American-led efforts to end the war with Russia.There was no immediate confirmation from the White House. Mr. Zelensky did not say when or where the meeting — which he has sought for weeks — would take place, though he indicated that it could happen in the next few days.“We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level — with President Trump in the near future,” he wrote on social media. “A lot can be decided before the New Year.”This week, Mr. Zelensky unveiled a revised 20-point peace plan, developed with the United States, that covers a broad range of issues, including security guarantees Ukraine seeks to prevent future Russian aggression.Mr. Zelensky acknowledged that some major sticking points in the peace talks, including on territorial questions, remained unresolved between Kyiv and Washington. But an even bigger issue is Russia, which analysts say is unlikely to accept the draft plan.While a spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that there had been “slow ​but steady progress” in negotiations with the United States, Moscow has shown little indication that it is willing to end the war.To draw a contrast with the unbending Russian position, Mr. Zelensky has been eager to show that he is fully behind Mr. Trump’s push for peace and is willing to make compromises, including on the territorial issues. The Ukrainian leader has said that Russia should face severe consequences, including new sanctions and increased Western military support for Kyiv, if it rebuffs the latest peace efforts.Talks between Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators have continued after Mr. Zelensky detailed the 20-point plan this week and said it would be presented by the United States to the Kremlin. In his nightly address on Thursday, Mr. Zelensky said that diplomacy in the coming weeks could be “intensive.” He added that he had spoken for nearly an hour earlier that day with Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.“We went into many details; there are good ideas, which we discussed,” Mr. Zelensky said. “We have some new ideas in terms of formats, meetings, and, of course, timing on how to bring a real peace closer.”The 20-point plan is a result of the Trump administration’s latest flurry of diplomacy, which got underway in the fall, with Mr. Trump initially setting a deadline of Thanksgiving for Ukraine to agree to a peace deal with Russia.But even as Mr. Trump has claimed on several occasions this year that a settlement could be close, he has been frustrated by President Vladimir V. Putin’s refusal to give ground on his far-reaching demands. Those include Mr. Putin’s insistence that Russia be handed Ukrainian territory that Moscow’s forces have been unable to capture, and his demand that Ukraine agree to measures that would undermine its sovereignty.SKIP