Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet President Donald Trump in the United States on the 28th (local time) to discuss a plan to end the war. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized that he holds the final decision-making power over the plan to end the war.
AFP and Reuters reported that Zelensky said in a message to reporters on the 26th that he would "meet President Trump in Florida around the weekend, probably Sunday (the 28th)." The two leaders' meeting will be the first in about two months since Oct. 17.
Zelensky said he will discuss the recently drafted 20-point plan to end the war, security guarantees, and postwar reconstruction with President Trump.
Zelensky said that "90% of the 20-point peace plan is ready," and added that with President Trump he will particularly "discuss the sensitive issues of Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant."
Zelensky, however, offered a cautious outlook, saying it is "hard to predict whether this meeting will lead to the signing of an agreement." He also said he hopes to discuss additional pressure measures against Russia with President Trump. In addition, he said he wants allies to put pressure on Russia so that a presidential election can be held safely after a cease-fire agreement is signed.
The United States and Ukraine have recently held negotiations between their delegations and prepared the latest 20-point plan to end the war.
Earlier, Zelensky said that while the two sides had narrowed many of their differences in the process, they had not yet reached agreement with the United States on the issue of ceding territory and on how to operate the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
Russia is demanding that Ukraine completely withdraw its troops from eastern Donetsk and cede territory in the Donbas region. Ukraine, by contrast, wants to halt fighting along the current front line.
As Russia and Ukraine's positions ran in parallel, the United States proposed establishing a demilitarized zone and a free economic zone in Donetsk, parts of which are controlled by Ukraine.
On the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the United States wants Ukraine, the United States, and Russia to set up joint corporations with equal equity, with the United States serving as the chief executive officer. Ukraine, by contrast, holds that Russia must not be involved in operating the Zaporizhzhia plant.
Amid this, President Trump said in an interview with the political outlet Politico on the 26th that regarding the plan to end the war Zelensky will present, "He (Zelensky) has nothing until I approve it," adding, "So we'll see what he brings."
Trump said, "I think this will work out well for him (Zelensky). I think this will work out well with Putin (the Russian president), too."
He added that he expects to talk with Russia President Vladimir Putin "soon, as often as I want."
Meanwhile, Russia claimed on the 26th (local time) that the 20-point plan to end the war released by Ukraine is completely different from the contents of negotiations between Russia and the United States.
According to TASS and RIA Novosti, Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with Russia's state broadcaster that "if it can be called a plan, we know that it is fundamentally different from the 28 points we have been working on with the U.S. side during contacts for several weeks since early December."