The Dec. 28, 2025 summit at Mar-a-Lago marked a notable step forward in negotiations between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. After more than three hours of talks, Zelenskyy said 18 of 20 points in a revised peace framework had been agreed, leaving the most politically sensitive issues unresolved.
What was agreed
Zelenskyy said bilateral US-Ukraine security guarantees were fully settled, with the draft reportedly envisioning 15-year guarantees, though he has pushed for a 50-year term. The military provisions were also said to be agreed in full, including keeping Ukraine’s armed forces at about 800,000 troops.
A separate package involving natural resources and rare earth minerals is also nearing completion. That deal would reportedly channel 50% of future resource revenues into a Reconstruction Investment Fund, designed in part to deter renewed Russian aggression.
Russian buy-in required
Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin before the summit and planned to follow up afterward, underscoring that any final agreement would still require Russian buy-in. He has framed the negotiations as a three-way process involving the US, Ukraine and Russia, while also signaling that territorial concessions may ultimately be unavoidable.
The remaining gap
The final 10% centers on the hardest questions: territory, nuclear security and the terms of any ceasefire. On Donbas, Trump has suggested Ukraine may need to consider concessions, while Zelenskyy says any change to borders would have to go through a national referendum.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remains unresolved as well. Trump has said Putin is “working with Ukraine” to reopen it, but Zelenskyy has been more cautious and has floated a split-control arrangement involving the U.S. and Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has argued that a ceasefire must come first if a referendum is to be legitimate. Trump and Putin, however, have both warned that a temporary truce could simply freeze the war rather than end it.
Why it matters
The summit suggested that the basic architecture of a deal may be taking shape, even if the most explosive issues remain open. That leaves the negotiations close to agreement in principle, but still vulnerable to collapse if the territorial and security questions cannot be bridged.
Read also:
Putin stalls U.S-led Peace Plan
Trump proposes Ukraine Peace Plan
