Trump says Ukraine peace talks near final stages

US President declined to offer a timeline for a possible agreement

US President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on December 28 in Florida. AFP

US President Donald Trump said efforts to end the war in Ukraine are approaching a decisive phase, after talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida and a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“We’re in the final stages of talking and we’re going to see,” Mr Trump told reporters before meeting Mr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Sunday. “Otherwise, it’s going to go on for a long time.”

He declined to offer a timeline for any agreement.

Mr Trump, who vowed to secure a peace deal if elected to a second term, said he believes Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Putin “want it to end", and praised the Ukrainian leader as “brave".

He described his earlier conversation with the Russian president as “very productive.”

European allies remain cautious over Moscow’s intentions, particularly after a Russian missile barrage struck Kyiv just as Mr Zelenskyy travelled to the US.

Asked if Mr Putin was acting in good faith, Mr Trump responded: “He’s very serious.”

Mr Zelenskyy said negotiators on both sides were working on a “step-by-step” framework that would bring the countries closer to a settlement, while reiterating that territorial sovereignty remains a core issue for Kyiv and a major sticking point in discussions.

The renewed diplomacy underscores mounting pressure on Washington and European capitals to find a path out of the nearly four-year conflict, which has upended global commodity markets, strained defence spending and clouded Europe's economic outlook.

Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting, and recent battlefield gains are seen as strengthening Moscow's hand in peace talks.

“If the authorities in Kyiv don't want to settle this business peacefully, we'll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” Mr Putin said on Saturday.