Zelenskyy announces meeting with Trump in late January on Ukraine peace plan

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday announced plans for a meeting with US President Donald Trump in late January to discuss a peace plan, marking a significant step in ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the war.

"After that, there will be a meeting of leaders, security documents will be finalized. The leaders will discuss many different issues, but the focus will be on security guarantees and recovery," Zelenskyy told a briefing following talks with national security advisers from partner nations.

He noted that representatives from various general staffs and military sectors are set to travel to Europe early next week, where they will engage with Trump's team in Paris for meetings expected to last "a day or two."

"We'll see how things go. After that, I think we will prepare for a meeting in the United States at the level of leaders in a wide circle. We would like all of this to happen during January, by the end of January," Zelenskyy added.

The announcement follows a Dec. 28 meeting between the two leaders in Florida where Trump noted progress on issues concerning the eastern Donbas region and announced the creation of a special working group for a peaceful resolution involving senior US officials and the Russian side.

Zelenskyy previously said the peace plan has nearly been agreed upon and that US security guarantees are fully settled, while Trump recently expressed dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin but voiced hope for progress toward resolving the conflict.