US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet on Sunday in Florida for talks on the draft 20-point peace plan which was disclosed for the first time before Christmas.
Ahead of the talks, Zelenskyy spoke on Saturday by phone with a number of EU leaders and received their full support. Thanking them for their support, he wrote on X, that “During our call, we discussed our current progress along the diplomatic track. We went over the most important priorities together.” The discussion will continue after his meeting with President Trump.
He made also a stopover in Canada where he met Prime Minister Mark Carney who announced additional $2.5 billion of economic assistance to Ukraine. “I am grateful for all the support for Ukraine, especially the support for air defense,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Moscow has turned down even the proposals for a Christmas ceasefire and is intensifying the brutality of its missile and drone strikes.”
After having mobilized support from the EU and the Coalition of Willing, President Zelenskyy comes well prepared to the crucial meeting with Trump. In another tweet, he sent a message for peace:
“Ukraine did not start this war. Russia started it. Ukraine supported President Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire. Ukraine has agreed to many different compromises, and this is documented in our draft agreements, in our 20-point plan. 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. To be strong, we need the support of the world: Europe and the United States. And this includes air defenses – which are currently insufficient, weaponry – which is currently insufficient, and money – thankfully, there is now a European decision, but, frankly, there is a constant shortage of funds.”
President Trump has promised to listen to Zelenskyy but whether he will accept his 20-point peace plan cannot be predicted. The plan, which has the support of the EU, is modification of an earlier American 28-point plan which was one-sided to Russia’s favour and repeated Kremlin’s narrative. Neither Ukraine nor the EU were consulted on them.
Trump keeps the cards close his chest. Ahead of their meeting, he told Politico that Zelensky “has nothing until I give my approval” but did not reject the 20-point plan out of hand. “We’ll see what he has… I think it will go well with him. I think it will also go well with Putin,” with whom he plans to speak “soon”. He needs to speak to Putin but each time he meets him he has been swung by him.
The European Commission has until now refused to disclose the 20-point plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. The plan was presented for the first time to journalists by Zelenskyy on 23 December. The Kyiv Independent (and other media) has publishing the draft, which reportedly has been developed by Ukraine and the US.
According to Kyiv Independent, Ukraine and the US have so far not reached an agreement on two major issues in the revised plan - control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the demarcation of future border between Ukrainian held and Russian occupied territory in the Donbas region.
The two starting points in the plan are the recognition of Ukraine by the signatories as a sovereign state and a full and unquestionable non-aggression agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The US stands to gain economically from the plan. Even if the US will support the 20-point plan, there is no guarantee that a Russia will accept it, although it includes new innovative points that are addressing its concerns.
Ukraine does not insist on NATO membership and will reaffirm its commitment to remain a non-nuclear state. It will receive security guarantees from the US, NATO and European signatory states. The size of its armed forces will remain at 800,000 personnel during peacetime. Ukraine will become an EU member at a clearly designated time and will receive a short-term preferential access to the European market.
"As of today, the timing of Ukraine’s accession is a bilateral discussion between the United States and Ukraine, without European confirmation for now," Zelenskyy commented. "Membership in the EU is also our security guarantee, and therefore we want to set a date — when this will happen. For example, 2027 or 2028."
As regards Donbas and other disputed regions (oblasts), the plans says that the line of military positions on the date of signing will be recognized as the de facto front line. Russia will have to withdraw its troops from certain areas that will be declared potential "free economic zones". International forces will be placed along the front line to monitor the agreement's implementation.
The plans concludes that the deal will be legally binding. Its implementation will be monitored by a Peace Council, chaired by US President Donald Trump. Ukraine, Europe, NATO, Russia, and the US will be part of this process. Violations will lead to sanctions. The ceasefire will take effect immediately once all parties agree to the deal.
