President Trump on Sunday suggested he would be willing to go to Ukraine to convince its parliament to concede land to Russia in a bid to end the war after meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky —while declaring peace is “closer than ever before.”
The two leaders held a wide-ranging discussion over lunch at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday afternoon about how to end the nearly four-year-old conflict, which Trump called “the biggest war, certainly the deadliest war, since World War II.”
Trump, asked by a reporter at a post-summit press conference about whether he would go to Ukraine to help end the war, replied, “I’d have no problem with doing it.
“I don’t anticipate it. I would like to get the deal done and not necessarily have to go,” he said.
But “I’ve offered to go and speak to their parliament,” Trump said, specifically referring to the potential need by Ukraine to concede some of the Donbas region to Russia.
Trump said the US and Ukraine were “95 percent” in agreement about much of Zelensky’s proposed 20-point peace plan but acknowledged that certain issues, such as control of Ukraine’s contested Donbas region, would be tough to resolve.
“There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues,” Trump said, citing Donbas in particular as an “issue they’re gonna have to iron out, but I think it’s moving in the right direction.
“I think the land — you’re talking about — some of that land has been taken,” he said, referring to Russia’s incursion.
“Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months — and you’re better off making a deal now.”
Throughout the peace talks, Zelensky has maintained that he lacks the authority to cede land to Russia on his own, casting doubt on territorial concessions.
During the press conference, the Ukrainian leader explained that his country’s parliament could potentially vote on the issue or they could put it up for a referendum.
“It’s their land,” Zelensky explained, referring to the Ukrainian people. “The land, not of one person, it’s the land of our nation for a lot of generations.”
Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin has been adamant that Ukraine cede the rest of Donbas, despite the Kremlin so far failing to conquer that territory by force throughout the deadly war.
Ukraine’s newly revamped 20-point plan is a pared-down version of a previous US 28-point plan, which was viewed as much more pro-Russian.
The revised plan, which Zelensky has described as “the main framework for ending the war,” includes proposals for security guarantees from the US, NATO and European allies should Russia try to invade Ukraine again, as well as steps to reaffirm Ukraine’s sovereignty and a proposed non-aggression pact between the sides.
Zelensky pointed to Ukraine obtaining security guarantees as the “key milestone” to achieving lasting peace.
“We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework, which includes the 20-point peace plan — 90% agreed, and U.S.-Ukraine security guarantees — 100% agreed. U.S.-Europe-Ukraine security guarantees — almost agreed. Military dimension — 100% agreed,” Zelensky said.
Trump said he believes Russia will play a role in rebuilding Ukraine after hostilities conclude and that the Kremlin “wants Ukraine to succeed.”
Zelensky looked visibly uncomfortable and seemingly bit his tongue when Trump made that remark.
Ukrainian leaders have been careful to refrain from doing anything that could set Trump off. At one point, Trump briefly appeared to make a quick reference to the infamous Feb. 28 Oval Office blow-up with Zelensky that has kept Ukrainian officials on edge when dealing with the famously mercurial Trump.
As for peace, Trump said, “There’s nothing more important.
“I solved eight wars, and this is the most difficult one.”
If the war continues, “millions of additional people will be killed, millions, and no one wants that,’’ Trump said.
An estimated 250,000 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine, with 950,000 total casualties and 50,000 more missing, according to a June 2025 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
A January estimate put forward by Zelensky pegged the number of Ukrainians killed or injured in the war at 400,000, with 35,000 missing.
But Trump, while saying he is optimistic peace can be achieved soon, waved off any specific time frame for it.
Ahead of the summit Sunday, Zelensky told reporters that his war-torn country is “willing to do whatever it takes” to end the war, even as Russia brutally bombarded it with over 2,100 drone strikes, nearly 800 guided aerial bombs and 94 missiles in the past week, according to Ukrainian officials.
“Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war. For us, priority number one – or the only priority – is ending the war. For us, the priority is peace. We need to be strong at the negotiating table,” Zelensky said.
Trump spoke with Putin ahead of his meeting with Zelensky and touted the conversation as “good and very productive.”
But Trump was coy when asked by reporters what the two discussed, saying only, “We didn’t talk about the weather.”
The president also noted that he has plans to have a post-Zelensky meeting debrief with Putin.
Putin was throwing cold water on any hopes of a peaceful resolution to the war on the eve of the Mar-a-Lago summit, implying the conflict would continue until Ukraine gave in to all of Russia’s demands.
“If Ukraine does not want to resolve everything peacefully, Russia will resolve all its objectives by military means,” Putin said, according to a translation.
Among Putin’s demands are Ukraine giving up a significant portion of its territory, reducing the size of its military and eschewing any formal alliance with Western nations.
At the conclusion of their talks, Trump said, he and Zelensky held phone calls with “great leaders” including European heads of state French President Emmanuel Macron, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Also included in the discussions were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Trump said he expected to hold a powwow with Ukraine and European leaders sometime next month to keep peace talks moving along.
Several top administration officials and aides were present at the meeting held inside Mar-a-Lago dining room – the first between Trump and Zelensky since Oct. 17 – including Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Susie Wiles, the president’s chief of staff; and General Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
Also in attendance were Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy to the Middle East, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and top adviser Stephen Miller.
