Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed Monday that he is pushing the United States to make security guarantees for his country beyond what President Donald Trump has said he would agree to.
In a series of social media posts, Zelensky disclosed more details about negotiations he held with Trump over the weekend that centered on a 20-point deal seeking to end Ukraine’s war with Russia. Security guarantees, as well as territorial concessions, have formed the crux of the peace talks the U.S. is brokering, which have spanned months.
Trump offered Kyiv 15-year security guarantees but said he would “consider” Zelensky’s request for expanded guarantees for up to 50 years of protection against a hypothetical Russian invasion, the Ukrainian president wrote on X.
“We would like to consider the possibility of 30, 40, or 50 years. It would then become a historic decision by President Trump. The President said that the U.S. would consider it,” Zelensky said, later adding that Trump said security guarantees “would be put to a vote by the United States Congress.”
Trump said a peace deal was “very close” following his meeting with Zelensky on Sunday at Mar-a-Lago.
Zelensky expressed optimism about the 20-point deal on Monday, promising to hold another round of meetings with partners, including the coalition of the willing, in January 2026, before “preparing for a meeting with President Trump and European leaders.”
The Ukrainian president also revealed he wants a deal to include billions in “reparations” from Russia to Kyiv. The first $100 billion should be received over the next two years, “in equal tranches,” Zelensky demanded. And he said the Ukrainian people must give final sign-off on the peace deal through a referendum.
“This would be the strongest historical endorsement of the force of this document, and we would very much like to do this,” Zelensky wrote. “Of course, not everyone views this positively because this clearly leads to open expression of the will – not of one person, not of 450 people. We’re talking about millions of people.”
Over the weekend, Trump also made a call to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the deal, later describing it as “a good and very productive” conversation.
A top Russian aide praised Trump for holding the meeting with Zelensky following their Sunday summit.
“The whole world appreciates President Trump and his team’s peace efforts,” Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev wrote on X.
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Trump told reporters that the meeting was “terrific” and that the two leaders covered “95%” of the issues needed to end the war.
“We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said. “As you know, I had an excellent phone call with President Putin that lasted for over two hours. We discussed a lot of points, and I do think we’re getting a lot closer.”
