KEY POINTS
- Kremlin says Ukraine peace talks are in the “final stage”.
- Trump held separate talks with Putin and Zelensky on Sunday.
- Trump said a deal to end the war is closer than ever.
- Zelensky insists any peace plan must be signed by Ukraine, Russia, the US and Europe.
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Monday it agreed with US President Donald Trump’s assessment that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine were in their final stage, following Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.
Asked whether Moscow shared Trump’s view after his recent talks with Zelensky, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied: “Of course.”
Peskov also said Putin and Trump would hold another telephone conversation in the “very near future”, following Trump’s discussions with Zelensky in the United States.
On Sunday, Trump said he agreed with Putin that a ceasefire amid arrangements for holding a referendum in Ukraine would not work.
Reporters asked the US leader to share the details of his phone call with Putin regarding whether Russia had agreed to a ceasefire for the period of holding a referendum in Ukraine.
“Not a ceasefire, and that’s one of the points that we’re working on right now. No, not a ceasefire. He (Putin) feels that. Look, you know, they’re fighting, and to stop, and then if they have to start again, which is a possibility. He doesn’t want to be in that position. I understand that position,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Vladimir Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
“The (Russian) president feels strongly about that or something, but I think we’re finding ways that we can get around that. But I understand President Putin from that standpoint. I’m on the side of peace. I’m on the side of stopping the war,” Trump added. “I think that’s a problem that’s going to get solved,” he concluded.
Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov said that in the phone call the two presidents “generally shared the view that a temporary ceasefire proposed by the Ukrainians and Europeans would only prolong the conflict and could lead to a resumption of hostilities.”
Trump-Zelensky talks in Florida
Trump hosted Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago estate near West Palm Beach, Florida, on December 28. The two leaders held bilateral talks lasting more than two hours before taking part in a video conference with European leaders.
Ahead of the meeting with Zelensky, Trump also spoke by phone with Putin. After the talks, Trump said a deal to end nearly four years of war was closer than ever.
“It’s unresolved, but it’s getting a lot closer,” Trump said, referring to the territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
He added that an agreement could be reached within weeks, though he acknowledged that a deal was not guaranteed.
Kyiv seeks four-party agreement
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Zelensky said any peace plan must be endorsed by four parties: Ukraine, Russia, the United States and Europe.
“Any plan must be signed by four sides: Ukraine, Europe, America and Russia,” he said, adding that Kyiv hoped to “move forward quickly” and was open to any format of talks.
Zelensky also said Ukraine wanted to host a meeting with European and American officials in the coming days to begin drafting documents to end the war.
He said the proposed meeting would be held at the advisor level and that Kyiv would do everything possible to ensure it took place in Ukraine.
Security guarantees
Zelensky said security guarantees remained Kyiv’s top priority. He said that the US had offered Ukraine security guarantees for 15 years, with the possibility of an extension, but said Kyiv was seeking a much longer period.
“I told him that we really want to consider the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years,” Zelensky said, referring to his discussions with Trump. He added that Trump had said he would consider the request.
The Ukrainian leader said the remaining unresolved elements of the plan included territorial issues and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control.
He said the presence of international troops in Ukraine was a necessary part of any security guarantees, a proposal Russia has repeatedly rejected.
Kremlin holds firm on demands
The Kremlin has reiterated its longstanding demands, including that Ukraine withdraw from eastern regions.
On Monday, Moscow again called for Ukraine to pull back from parts of the Donbas region, warning that “Ukraine is losing territory and will continue to do so”.
Russia insists it will retain all territory it currently occupies and has repeatedly said its forces will seize the remainder of the Ukrainian land it has declared as Russian if diplomacy fails.
Meanwhile, Moscow said on Monday that its forces had taken another village, Dibrova, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Working groups and next steps
Following the Florida meeting, Trump and Zelensky announced the formation of working groups to address unresolved issues.
The US group will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, special envoy Steve Witkoff, businessman Jared Kushner and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kane.
Ukraine’s working group will include Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, Chief of the General Staff Andrey Gnatov and First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislitsa.
Zelensky said around 90 percent of the peace plan had been agreed, while security guarantees between the United States and Ukraine were “100 percent agreed”.
He also said Ukraine was prepared to approve a deal through a parliamentary vote rather than a referendum.
Europe watches closely
European leaders, who joined the talks by video link, have expressed concern about any settlement that could embolden Russia.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “good progress” had been made during the discussions.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced a further meeting of Ukraine’s allies in Paris in early January, while Zelensky said he and European leaders could return jointly for talks with Trump in Washington next month.
