President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he believes the United States has “the makings of a deal” for peace between Ukraine and Russia but insisted there was no deadline by which to achieve it.
Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday for peace talks between the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations, with Trump announcing he would call Russian President Vladimir Putin following his bilateral meeting with Zelensky after speaking with Putin earlier in the day.
Trump said he does not have a deadline for the deal but said he thinks “both presidents want to make a deal.”
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“I do believe that we have the makings of a deal. It’s good for Ukraine, good for everybody. Very important. There’s nothing more important. We’ve settled eight wars, and this is the most difficult one,” Trump said.
But he projected confidence going into the holiday weekend discussion with Zelensky, telling reporters, “We’re going to get it done; we’re going to have a great meeting today.”
Trump posted on Truth Social that he had a productive call with Putin hours before his in-person meeting with Zelensky on Sunday.
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“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 posted.
Trump played peacemaker in his gaggle with the press ahead of Sunday’s meeting, ensuring that there will be a “strong” security agreement element, something Ukraine has remained steadfast in seeking. Zelensky has vouched for security guarantees longer than the 15-year ones previously proposed by the U.S.
Trump said the leaders of the European nations are all involved and are “very much in line with this meeting and getting a deal done.” Trump said he’s confident the two parties can “move very rapidly” towards peace.
In the week leading up to Sunday’s peace talks, Russia continued an onslaught of aerial attacks against its neighbor, in which Russia authorized 2,100 drones, 800 bombs, and nearly 100 missiles on Ukraine, according to an X post from Zelensky. Trump insisted that despite the attacks, Putin is serious about peace and said the Ukrainian side has made attacks of its own as well.
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“I can say that I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also. And I don’t say that negatively; I think you probably have to,” Trump said, looking at Zelensky. “I think — he hasn’t told me that.”
As cameras panned to the U.S. and Ukrainian peace delegations ahead of their bilateral meeting, the U.S. side included such administration officials as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, special envoy for peace Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Witkoff and Kushner have each been at the helm of many of the administration’s peace talks in 2025.
