PALM BEACH, Fla.—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to persuade President Trump to more forcefully back a proposed peace agreement that includes security guarantees and would convert contested territory with Russia into a demilitarized free economic zone.
Zelensky and Trump met Sunday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate to go over a 20-point draft that has been revised by Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators in recent weeks in the latest attempt to end the nearly four-year war. Zelensky’s hope is that Trump will apply more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a deal.
Ahead of Sunday’s meeting, Trump said on social media he had “a good and very productive telephone call” with Putin. The two planned to speak again following the talks at Mar-a-Lago.
“I think both presidents want to make a deal,” Trump told reporters after Zelensky’s arrival at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump said he thinks Putin is serious about making peace and that he pressed him to make a deal. “Too many people dying,” Trump said.
Going into the summit, the main sticking points were the future of the approximately 20% of the Donetsk region that Russia wants to be surrendered to it, the status of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, that is currently under Russian occupation, and details of security guarantees that Washington would provide for Ukraine.
Before meeting Trump, Zelensky on Sunday highlighted Russia’s stepped-up attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in recent days that have left swaths of the country without power. He said he was there not only to talk about ending the war but also ensuring that pressure on Russia remained high, with effective sanctions and new air defenses for Ukraine.
“These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year right now, and a lot can be decided before the New Year,” Zelensky said on X. “We are doing everything toward this, but whether decisions will be made depends on our partners—those who help Ukraine, and those who put pressure on Russia so that Russians feel the consequences of their own aggression.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday that Zelensky and Europe aren’t “ready to engage in constructive talks.” He called European countries “the main obstacles to peace” and said Moscow remained committed to working with the U.S. to “devise lasting agreements for addressing the conflict’s root causes,” language the Kremlin often uses for concessions Ukraine sees as capitulation.
Trump and Zelensky have had an uneven relationship since the American president returned to power in January, with Trump alternately pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart to make deep concessions and seeming to side with him amid ongoing frustration with Putin.
The 20-point plan has been adapted from an original 28-point proposal from the U.S. that came under criticism for being too favorable to Moscow, including calling on Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region now under its control to Moscow and accept Russia’s de facto control of other parts of Ukraine where the front line would be frozen.
The new draft agreement calls for a referendum in Ukraine on the territorial concessions, as well as presidential elections. Ukraine has started preparing for a vote, which could be carried out in person and online, to allow the participation of millions of Ukrainians abroad.
Kyiv has resisted giving up Ukrainian territory in Donetsk, citing restrictions in its constitution. The U.S. is proposing a demilitarized “free economic zone” in the area. Zelensky has said he is ready to consider the idea if Russia also withdraws its forces from parts of the Donetsk region under its control.
Russia hasn’t accepted the terms and continues to push for control of the Donetsk region. One day before the talks here, Russia unleashed a ballistic missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital.
In a video released Saturday night, Putin accused Ukraine of being the obstacle to a resolution and said that “if Kyiv authorities are not willing to end the matter peacefully, we will achieve all the goals we have in the special military operation by military means.”
The 20-point plan stems from a proposal drafted by Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner , with input from Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev .
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the Kremlin and the U.S. are closer to resolving the conflict in Ukraine, but that it would be inappropriate to set any deadlines, state news agency Tass reported on Friday. He said the plan discussed between the U.S. and Russia significantly differs from the plan publicized by Ukraine, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti.
Zelensky arrived in Florida on Saturday night after a stop in Canada to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney . He also held calls with European leaders and planned to do so again after meeting with Trump.
Write to Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com
