“The Ukrainian leader doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” the U.S. president has stated
U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced skepticism about Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s latest peace proposal to end the conflict with Moscow, arguing discussions can only move forward with his blessing.
Trump’s remarks come as he is expected to hold talks with Zelensky in Florida on Sunday. Earlier this week, Zelensky presented a 20-point peace framework that included a frontline freeze in Russia’s Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions, Moscow’s withdrawal from several Ukrainian regions, and an 800,000-strong Ukrainian army backed by NATO members. The plan also envisages “Article 5-like” security guarantees from the U.S., NATO, and European states to Kyiv.
In a Friday interview with Politico, Trump signaled he was in no rush to get behind Zelensky’s demands. “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump stressed. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
Commenting on Zelensky’s initiative, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov noted that “the plan – if it can even be called as such – is radically different… from the 27-point [proposal] we were working on with the U.S. side… over the past weeks”.
The initial U.S.-drafted 28-point version leaked to media in November reportedly required Kyiv to relinquish parts of Russia’s Donbass still under Ukrainian control, pledge not to join NATO, and cut its armed forces to 600,000, with a frontline freeze in Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions. Moscow has said the U.S. proposal could serve as a basis for future negotiations. At the same time, Ukraine’s EU backers signaled they would oppose any major concessions from Kyiv.
Russia maintains a sustainable settlement is only possible if Ukraine recognizes new territorial realities and commits to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification.