(The Hill) — President Donald Trump on Sunday said he does not think Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to sign off on a U.S.-proposed peace plan between Ukraine and Russia.
The president, in an exchange with reporters ahead of hosting the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., expressed concern regarding Zelenskyy’s thoughts on the peace plan. This follows controversy surrounding the initial 28-point plan the U.S. proposed and subsequent talks among Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. representatives.
“I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago,” Trump said Sunday evening. “His people love it, but he hasn’t. Russia’s fine with it.”
It is unclear whether Trump’s comments Sunday are referring to the plan already on the table, or a new peace proposal in the works.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on Friday met with Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, and Ukrainian negotiator Andriy Hnatov in Florida.
Zelenskyy on Saturday praised those talks as “long and substantive.”
“I am grateful for a very focused, constructive discussion,” Zelenskyy wrote on the social platform X. “We covered many aspects and went through key points that could ensure an end to the bloodshed and eliminate the threat of a new Russian full scale invasion, as well as the risk of Russia failing to honor its promises, as has happened repeatedly in the past.”
Zelenskyy said that his government will “keep working in good faith with the American side to genuinely achieve peace,” and thanked Trump “for such an intensive approach to negotiations.”
“Not everything can be discussed over the phone, so we need to work closely with our teams on ideas and proposals,” Zelenskyy said. “Our approach is that everything must be workable – every crucial measure for peace, security, and reconstruction. Thank you!”
Ryan Mancini contributed.