As Zelenskyy Prepares To Meet Trump, European Leaders Hustle For Talks

Ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will join the telephonic conversation with Zelenskyy and

other European leaders on Saturday, a spokesperson said.

Reuters quoted the spokesperson saying the key sticking points during the telephonic conversation will include Ukrainian security guarantees and reconstruction, plus territorial discussions regarding the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The call is part of the push for a peace deal involving the Ukrainian leader’s meeting with Trump in Florida on Sunday.

On Friday, Zelenskyy said Sunday’s meeting with Trump in Florida is “specifically intended to refine things as much as we possibly can”. He added that a proposed 20-point peace plan was “90% ready”. “Our goal is to bring everything to 100%,” Zelenskyy said. “As of today, our teams – the Ukrainian and American negotiating teams – have made significant progress.”

In a recent interview with Axios, Zelenskyy had said he was willing to hold a referendum on a peace plan if Russia agrees to a ceasefire of at least 60 days. He had reportedly said he would need to seek approval of the Ukrainian public if he failed to secure a “strong” position on territory, The Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, after the overnight strikes on Saturday, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia’s “only response to peace efforts” was “brutal attacks using hundreds of drones and missiles against Kyiv and other cities and regions”.

The Russian strikes have also forced Poland to scramble its fighter jets and temporarily close its two airports – Rzeszów and Lublin.

The latest peace efforts comes a week after a similar meeting in Miami during which Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met separately with Russian and Ukrainian representatives, as well as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

In an interview with Politico on Friday, Trump said he anticipated a “good” meeting with the Ukrainian leader. “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump said, adding “So we’ll see what he’s got”.

Meanwhile, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov on Friday criticised Zelenskyy and his European allies on their work on the peace plan.

“Our ability to make the final push and reach an agreement will depend on our own work and the political will of the other party,” he said.

“Without an adequate resolution of the problems at the origin of this crisis, it will be quite simply impossible to reach a definitive accord,” Ryabkov added.