Trump says Ukraine peace plan hinges on his approval ahead of Zelenskyy talks

US President Donald Trump has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “doesn’t have anything until I approve it”, underlining Washington’s central role in shaping a proposed peace deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Trump’s remarks, made in an interview published by Politico on Friday, come ahead of his expected meeting with Zelensky in Florida this weekend. “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it. So we’ll see what he’s got,” Trump said, while expressing confidence that the talks could be productive.

The US president also said he intended to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin “soon and as much as I want”, signalling fresh diplomatic engagement as Washington pushes to finalise a settlement framework.

Zelensky is expected to raise sensitive territorial issues during Sunday’s meeting, which comes as negotiations around a US-led 20-point peace plan and a related security guarantee arrangement near completion. Territorial control remains the most contentious issue in efforts to end the conflict, now approaching its fourth year.

Announcing the meeting earlier, Zelensky said that “a lot can be decided before the New Year” as the United States intensifies its push to bring an end to Europe’s deadliest war since the Second World War. He said discussions would include the future of the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, along with other unresolved matters.

In separate remarks cited by Axios, Zelensky said he was open to putting the Washington-backed peace plan to a national referendum, provided Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine time to prepare and conduct the vote.

Moscow has been demanding that Ukraine withdraw from parts of the eastern Donetsk region that Russian forces have not fully captured, as it seeks complete control of the Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk. Kyiv, by contrast, wants hostilities frozen along the current front lines.

As part of a possible compromise, the United States has proposed the creation of a free economic zone if Ukraine relinquishes control of certain areas, though details of how such a zone would operate have yet to be disclosed.

The Florida talks are being closely watched as a potential turning point, with Trump positioning himself as the key arbiter in determining whether the proposed deal can move forward.

With agency inputs