President Donald Trump greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, Sunday afternoon for the next round of talks to end the war with Russia in the Ukraine.
“We’re going to have a very good meeting today, I think,” Trump told reporters as he and Zelenskyy posed for photos.
Trump said he believes both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyyt are ready to strike a deal.
President Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla., December 28, 2025.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
“I do, I do. I think he is. I think they both are,” Trump said.
The president posted online earlier Sunday that he had spoken to Putin shortly before this meeting began and planned to speak with him again after the meeting ended. The Kremlin later confirmed that the call had taken place, according to Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
When asked what was his message to Putin in his call, Trump said, “You gotta make a deal. You got to get it done. Too many people dying, and I think both presidents want to make a deal. I do believe that.”
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy receive questions from the media as Zelenskyy arrives for meetings at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., December 28, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Despite vowing on the campaign trail to end the war in Ukraine on day one, Trump on Sunday appeared to moderate expectations, telling reporters that he has no deadline to secure a peace agreement.
“I don’t have deadlines,” Trump said. “I think we’re in final stages of talking, and we’re going to see, otherwise it’s going to go on for a long time. It’ll either end or it’s going to go on for a long time.”
When pressed whether Putin is serious about peace, considering Russia’s relentless attacks on Ukraine – including dozens of drone strikes on Ukraine overnight, according to the air force in Kyiv – Trump reiterated that he thinks Putin is “serious.”
“No, he’s very serious. I think, you know, I can say that. I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also,” Trump said. “Look, the people of Ukraine want it to end, and the people of Russia want it to end, and the two leaders want it to end.”
Zelensky said he came to Mar-a-Lago Sunday to pitch the president on the 20-point plan. Major sticking points remain, including Ukraine’s push for stronger U.S. security guarantees, as well as territorial disputes. Yet Ukraine has come prepared with a significant concession: Zelensky has offered the idea of a demilitarized buffer zone in the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine, territory Putin has long sought to control.
President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla., December 28, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
When asked about the specifics of security guarantees for Ukraine, Trump lashed out at the reporter, calling the question “dumb,” but said there would be a “strong agreement” to assure Ukraine’s security.
“Nobody even knows what the security guide, agreement is going to say. But there will be a security agreement. It’ll be a strong agreement. And the European nations are very much involved in that will be very much involved in that. They’ll be very much involved in protection, et cetera,” Trump said.
The president then pivoted to discussing the other peace deals he claims he’s made, striking an optimistic tone that today’s meeting could lead to another.
“We’re going to have a great meeting today. This gentleman has worked very hard, and he’s very brave, and his people are very brave. With what they’ve gone through, no nation, very rarely has a nation ever had to go through this. So, we’re going to have a very good meeting today, I think I’m also calling President Putin back after the meeting and we’ll continue the negotiation. Pretty complex, but not that complex,” Trump said.
After the greeting, cameras were briefly allowed inside into the bilateral lunch, where officials from both sides were seated. The president had the press escorted out of the room and asked to have the chef prepare them lunch.
The U.S. delegation present at the talks, per the White House, included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, special Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum, White House advisor Stephen Miller, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son in law.
