Donald Trump says Ukraine peace deal closer after Berlin talks

US President Donald Trump has said an agreement to end Russia’s war on Ukraine is “closer than ever” following two days of high-level talks in Berlin, though officials on all sides caution that major disagreements, particularly over territory, have yet to be resolved.

Al Jazeera reported that Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he had held “very long and very good talks” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and NATO. He said European leaders were strongly aligned with Washington in seeking an end to the conflict.

Trump added that he had also spoken several times with Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggesting that diplomacy had reached its most advanced stage since the war began. However, officials familiar with the discussions said negotiations remain difficult, with territorial control and security arrangements still highly sensitive.

The Berlin meetings brought together Zelenskyy, a US delegation led by special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and senior European leaders, as Washington increases pressure on Kyiv to consider concessions to Moscow to end the deadliest European conflict since the Second World War.

In a joint statement issued after the talks, European leaders said they and the US were committed to providing Ukraine with “robust security guarantees”. These would include a European-led multinational force, backed by the US, tasked with operating inside Ukraine, helping rebuild its armed forces, securing its airspace and supporting maritime safety. The statement said Ukraine’s military should remain at a peacetime strength of around 800,000 troops.

Two US officials described the proposed arrangements as “Article 5-like”, referring to NATO’s collective defence clause, though without formal Ukrainian membership of the alliance. Kyiv has previously indicated it may be prepared to abandon its ambition to join NATO in return for binding Western security guarantees.

Zelenskyy said the talks with US and European leaders had been challenging but productive, stressing that Ukraine needed absolute clarity on security guarantees before making any decisions on territorial control. He added that any ceasefire would require effective international monitoring.

Ukraine’s caution reflects past experience. Security assurances provided after independence in 1991 failed to prevent Russia’s invasions in 2014 and again in 2022.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said Washington had put forward “considerable” legal and material guarantees during the Berlin discussions. He described the moment as a genuine opportunity for progress, but insisted that decisions on territory rest solely with Kyiv.

“Only Ukraine can decide about territorial concessions, no ifs or buts,” Merz said, adding that territorial arrangements remain at the heart of the negotiations.

Merz also urged the European Union to reach consensus on using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, warning that failure to share the legal and financial risks could undermine the bloc’s credibility. Separately, the EU has adopted fresh sanctions targeting companies and individuals accused of helping Moscow bypass restrictions on oil exports.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin was open to “serious decisions” on peace but rejected what he called temporary or deceptive measures.

According to the Al Jazeera, the outcome of the talks remained uncertain. While discussions between US and Ukrainian officials had concluded, it was unclear how much of Washington’s proposed 28-point plan, parts of which are acceptable to Moscow but strongly opposed by Kyiv and some EU capitals, would survive. Germany, he said, has circulated a separate 10-point proposal focused on military and intelligence cooperation rather than a comprehensive peace settlement.

Despite the diplomatic push, fighting continues. Ukraine said Russia launched 153 drones overnight, with 17 hitting their targets, while Moscow claimed it intercepted 130 Ukrainian drones. Kyiv also said its underwater drones struck a Russian submarine in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, as Ukraine steps up naval attacks on Russian-linked vessels.

Russian strikes have continued on the southern port city of Odesa, with two Turkish cargo ships hit in recent days. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of using sustained attacks, including strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as leverage in the peace talks, underscoring the fragility of the diplomatic moment.