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US President Donald Trump said Sunday that talks in Florida with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had progressed towards clinching a peace deal, but added that there had been no breakthrough on the complex parts of the negotiations pertaining to the issue of territory.

The two leaders met with top aides over lunch at the US President’s resort, where he declared after the meeting that a deal was “closer than ever before” and praised his “brave” counterpart. Their meeting was preceded by Trump’s two-and-a-half-hour telephonic chat with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he insisted was “serious” about peace despite unleashing new attacks on Kyiv a day before.

“Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Trump said during a late afternoon news conference as he stood with Zelenskyy after their meeting.

“I really believe we’re, Mr. President, probably closer than – far closer than – ever before with both parties,” he said at his Mar-a-Lago estate, adding, “Everybody wants its ended”.

The discussions between the leaders were followed by a joint conversation with a wide group of European leaders, including Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and the leaders of Finland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland.

 

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Zelenskyy thanked Trump for his work, saying “Ukraine is ready for peace”, and announced another impending meeting in January next year, which could be in Washington or “someplace”.

Trump, who had promised on day one of his second term of presidency that he would help end the nearly-four-year conflict, said on Sunday that it would become clear within weeks whether it was possible to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people since it began in February, 2022.

The sticking points remain Ukraine’s insistence on being offered NATO-like security guarantees by the US, which translates into being defended by the alliance’s members if Russia attacks again, and Russia’s condition that Ukraine ceases some territory, including parts of the Donbas region.