U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 28 to discuss a plan to end the years-long war with Russia.

Trump expressed optimism that a peace agreement was in sight following the meeting.

“We’re getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to a peace agreement, he said.

Lingering territorial disputes, particularly regarding the heavily Russian-occupied Donbas region, still have to be resolved.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting on the afternoon of Dec. 28, the leaders confirmed that the meeting about a 20-point peace plan was productive but noted that there is more work to be done, including negotiating security guarantees and navigating the future of eastern Ukraine’s contested Donbas region.

Moscow has called for Ukraine to cede the whole territory, a demand that Ukraine has resisted.

“There are one or two very thorny, very tough issues” relating to security, Trump told reporters after the meeting.

He indicated that land disputes were the most significant of these issues.

“The land you’re talking about, some of that land has been taken,“ Trump said. ”Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months.”

He indicated that Ukraine is “better off making a deal now” that includes territorial concessions to Russia.

Zelenskyy confirmed that the two leaders did not agree on what would happen to the Donbas region.

Russia controls about 90 percent of the Donbas, while Ukraine’s forces cover the remaining 10 percent of the area.

“Our team is very close to results,” Zelenskyy said, hinting that he still does not want to relinquish the region.

Moscow is also urging Kyiv to make a “bold decision” on Donbas and said Russia and the United States would reject a cease-fire ahead of a settlement, according to Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.

In an X post on Dec. 28, Zelenskyy wrote: “These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year right now, and a lot can be decided before the New Year.

“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.”

Trump, who spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin before the Dec. 28 meeting, said he has not set a New Year’s Day deadline for peace but that he is hopeful that a deal will be made soon.

“I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Dec. 28.

The Dec. 28 meeting came one day after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Zelenskyy in Halifax, Canada, and announced plans to send $2.5 billion in aid to the war-torn country.

The Ukrainian leader told reporters last week that he also planned to discuss territorial issues and draft a political framework for ending the conflict, as well as an economic agreement.

Trump campaigned on ending the war in Ukraine, which started in February 2022, and his administration’s efforts have inched closer in recent weeks.

America’s initial 28-point peace plan, which has been condensed into 20 points, has a heavy focus on Ukraine receiving security guarantees, becoming a European Union member, and receiving a global development package and funding for economic recovery.

Key territorial questions in the peace plan are still being negotiated, such as what will become of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared ‍Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke to Zelenskyy for an hour on Christmas Day.

“It was a really good conversation: many details, good ideas, that we discussed,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram after the meeting.

“There are some ‌new ideas on how to bring the real peace closer, and it concerns ⁠formats, meetings, and, certainly, the timeline.”

Witkoff said the United States and Russia have had “productive and constructive meetings” to advance the peace plan.

“Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine,” Witkoff wrote last week after meetings with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“Russia highly values the efforts and support of the United States to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and re-establish global security.”

Despite the peace talks, Zelenskyy said Russia has launched more than 2,100 attack drones, 800 guided aerial bombs, and 94 missiles at Ukraine in the past week.

When asked about recent attacks, Trump reiterated that Putin is “very serious” about ending the war.

“I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also,” Trump said. “They’re fighting a war, and we'll see what happens.”

Trump also stated that the parties are in the “final stages” of negotiations.

He warned that if talks fail this time, the conflict could continue “for a long time.”

In mid-December, U.S. negotiators Witkoff and Kushner spent several days in Europe meeting with Zelenskyy, his delegation, and several European leaders.

U.S. officials told reporters that, as a result of these meetings, they developed “robust” security guarantees for Ukraine, similar to NATO’s Article 5 protections.

“What’s on the table is really the platinum standard for what can be offered,” a U.S. official said during a call with reporters. “It would have to go before the Senate, and President Trump is willing to do that.”

The draft peace plan revealed on Nov. 20 proposes that Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk be recognized “as de facto Russian, including by the United States,” leaving Ukraine room to accept the terms without violating its constitution. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would have their front lines frozen as they are, effectively granting Russia control over those areas as well.

The plan also requires Ukraine to amend its constitution to commit to not joining NATO and for the alliance to adopt a statute barring Ukraine from future membership.

Kiev has recently proposed withdrawing its troops from the Donetsk region that it still partially controls. The plan includes establishing a free economic demilitarized zone, contingent on Russia’s withdrawal from an equivalent area. Russia has so far rejected this proposal.