Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Florida for crunch talks on Ukraine peace plan
The leaders are due to meet at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced he will meet with Donald Trump this weekend as efforts ramp up to reach a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
Listen to this article
President Zelenskyy told reporters on Boxing Day that he is due to meet his US counterpart in Florida on Sunday which will aim to "finalise as much as we can."
The Ukrainian leader wrote on social media that "a lot can be decided before the New Year," and said he planned to discuss with Mr Trump about how Ukraine's allies could guarantee its security in the future.
He wrote on X: "We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump – in the near future. A lot can be decided before the New Year."
Meanwhile Sir Keir Starmer said the talks should progress towards a "just and lasting peace."
Read more: Russia takes over embattled town in eastern Ukraine hours after launching ‘massive wave’ of strikes
It comes after the 20-point plan to end the war with Russia was agreed by Ukrainian and US officials and sent back to Moscow on Monday.
In response, the Kremlin confirmed it had received the revised plan and was studying the updated proposals put forward.
It is believed the meeting on Sunday, planned to be held at Mar-a-Lago, will focus on documents including US security guarantees and a separate economic agreement in relation to the peace deal deal.
Ukraine has repeatedly raised the question of territory which has proved to be the most difficult to resolve, along with the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The White House has proposed Ukraine and Russia split the energy generated by the plant, the largest in Europe, as Russian troops currently control it.
Mr Zelenskyy said: "We must, without doubt, find some format in the near future in which not only Ukraine and the U.S. are present, but Europe is represented as well."
His comments also come after claiming this week that he had a "good conversation" with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law.
Mr Zelenskyy also said on Tuesday that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes demilitarised.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters that Moscow had already been in contact with US representatives since Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev recently met his American counterparts in Florida.
He said: "It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue."
Meanwhile in a call with German and French leaders on Friday, Prime Minister Starmer said it remained "a crucial moment for Ukraine and security across the Euro-Atlantic region" as they emphasised their "unwavering commitment" to Ukraine.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the leaders "reiterated their unshakeable commitment for a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the importance that talks continue to progress towards this in the coming days."