The real question is: What will Putin do?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday to discuss ongoing ceasefire and peace-deal negotiations aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Gotta make a deal, too many people dying,” Trump told reporters at this Florida resort. “I don’t have deadlines. You know what my deadline is: getting the war ended.”

Ever the optimist, Trump said he believes they have “the makings of a deal” that is “good for everybody.”

Zelensky and Trump Made Progress in Mar-a-Lago

Over the past several weeks, significant pressure has been building on the Ukrainian, EU, and US negotiators to reach an agreement that resolves some of the thorniest issues. Among them are Donbas region territorial disputes, strong security measures for Ukraine, and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility that Russia captured in 2022. Trump made the point when talking to the press: “I think we’re in the final stages of talking…we’ll see. Otherwise, it’s going to go on for a long time.”

Before the meeting with President Zelensky began, in an effort to keep both sides informed, Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lasted more than an hour. The US president posted on Truth Social: “I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelensky of Ukraine.” Though this sounds encouraging, similar phone calls in the past have prompted little or no progress toward a lasting peace deal. Russia has been consistently intractable in making any concessions to move the peace talks forward.

Following the meeting, Presidents Trump and Zelensky met with the press. Trump exclaimed that “our meeting was excellent. We covered somebody would say 95%, I don’t know what percent, but we made a lot of progress on ending that war.”

Zelensky explained that the pair “discussed all the aspects of the peace framework,” including the 20-point peace plan and achieving 90% agreement, and that the US-Ukraine security guarantees were achieved at 100%. The Ukrainian president also noted that the US-Ukraine-Europe security guarantees are still in the works, but on the “military dimension” they “100% agree.”

“And we agreed that security guarantees are a key milestone in achieving lasting peace,” Zelensky added. “Furthermore, the prosperity plan is being finalized.”

During the meeting, President Trump called European leaders to keep them informed on the progress of the deliberations.

The Real Question: What Will Putin Do

It certainly seems clear that the participants in the meeting on Sunday made progress toward achieving unanimity of purpose. Following the press conference, President Trump was to call President Putin and debrief the Russian leader on decisions made. But the real question is what Putin will make of the way ahead charted by Zelensky and Trump – and the answer remains unclear. However, if history is any marker for the future, Putin will sound open to a discussion, feign agreement, and then demur when it comes time to commit. As President Trump lamented, “It’ll either end or it’s going to go on for a long time, and millions of additional people are going to be killed.”

~

The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.

~

Liberty Nation does not endorse candidates, campaigns, or legislation, and this presentation is no endorsement.