The series of peace talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war, which has been ongoing for four years, saw another round held on Sunday in Florida, United States. In the talks between Ukraine and Russia, mediated by United States President Donald Trump, both sides claim significant progress as the negotiations move forward through intense and cautious engagement. Trump said after the meeting at Mar-a-Lago in Florida that the talks are progressing “through a tangle of two or three thorny issues.” While Trump stated that consensus has been reached on 95 per cent of the 20-point peace plan proposals identified as the framework for the peace negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's take is that 90 per cent of the issues have been resolved. He also announced that high-level delegations from both countries would continue discussions as early as next week. Although Ukraine and Russia have reached an understanding under United States mediation on several issues related to liberating Ukraine from Russian occupation, Russia’s continued reluctance to withdraw from the 20 per cent of territory it seized through military invasion remains the principal thorny issue.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s uncompromising position is that Russia must relinquish the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which it has occupied. Russia currently controls 99 per cent of the Luhansk part and 75 per cent of the Donetsk area within the Donbas region. One of the two major issues on which disputes between the two countries have intensified is sovereignty over the Donbas region. Russia is demanding the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the region. Zelensky, however, maintains that Ukraine will continue to fight firmly along the present battle lines. The United States, for its part, has proposed demilitarising the regions under Ukrainian control and opening them up as a free economic zone. Another major issue concerns the dispute over control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Europe’s largest nuclear power station is located in territory currently under Russian occupation. President Donald Trump has proposed that Russia, Ukraine, and the United States jointly manage the plant, with Americans appointed as chief managers. Zelensky, however, has proposed an arrangement that ensures equal control for the United States and Ukraine, an idea that Russia is unlikely to accept. It is on these crucial issues within the 20-point peace plan that consensus still remains elusive.
President Donald Trump has decided that trilateral talks will be held after conducting separate consultations with both countries and working out an amicable settlement formula. He has also expressed hope that this will take place at the earliest appropriate time. The European Union, too, is optimistic about the talks held on Sunday. It can be expected that pressures from various quarters will push both countries closer to peace. That Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, wrote on X after the talks that “the entire world is applauding Trump” is seen by observers as an indication of Moscow’s desire for peace. Ahead of the Florida talks, Putin and Trump had spoken over the telephone for more than two hours. Zelensky, while maintaining a firm stance on sovereignty over Donbas, has nevertheless expressed willingness to hold a referendum to ascertain public opinion on the issue. For that, he has sought a complete ceasefire lasting two months. Russia, however, maintains that such a prolonged ceasefire is unnecessary before a comprehensive resolution is reached. As a continuation of the decisions taken by both countries to move the talks forward, the United States has announced a working group to facilitate a resolution to the Ukraine crisis. The group includes Trump’s trusted aide Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, General Dan Kane, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Ukrainian side’s team will be announced shortly. Both sides will jointly prepare the peace agreement, post-war reconstruction, and security arrangements. Trump has also promised increased economic assistance to Ukraine if both countries reach an agreement on the peace accord and a ceasefire becomes possible.