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Ukrainian president will discuss peace agreement with Trump at Mar-A-Lago on Sunday
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President Donald Trump has said that Volodymyr Zelensky “doesn’t have anything until I approve it” ahead of long-awaited peace talks between the leaders on Sunday.
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Mr Trump reportedly told Politico regarding the Ukrainian leader’s proposal in an exclusive interview. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
The US leader appeared warmer about Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, saying: “I think it’s going to go good with him. I think it’s going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin,” adding that he would speak to him “soon, as much as I want”.
Mr Zelensky confirmed that he will meet with Mr Trump on Sunday in the latest push to secure a peace deal before the New Year.
The Ukrainian president said he would travel to Mar-A-Lago to meet with the leader at his personal residence and that his peace agreement was “90 per cent ready”.
Earlier, he had hinted at progress on a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, following a “really good conversation” with Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff on Christmas Day.
A former Russian diplomat has been sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony after being found guilty of treason.
Arseniy Konovalov, born in 1987, was accused of selling secrets to US intelligence while on a posting to America, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday.
“It was established that A S Konovalov, an employee of the Russian Foreign Ministry, during a long-term foreign assignment in the United States, proactively transferred secret information to American intelligence for money,” the FSB said in a statement.
Konovalov was first detained in March 2024.
Russia is likely to be placing new hypersonic ballistic missiles at a former airbase in Belarus, according to Reuters.
Two US researchers discovered the possibility using satellite imagery and broadly aligns with the findings of US intelligence, according to a source close to the matter.
President Vladimir Putin has previously stated his intention to place intermediate-range Oreshnik missiles in Belarus, but the exact location has not been reported previously.
The missiles have an estimated range of up to 3,400 miles (5,500 km).
Belarusian defence minister Viktor Khreni said on Wednesday that the deployment was a “response” to the “West’s aggression”, in an interview with state-run news agency Belta.
Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US president Donald Trump at his residence in Florida on Sunday for crucial talks amid growing optimism in Kyiv that a peace deal may be nearing completion.
The Ukrainian president announced on Friday that he would meet Mr Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort to discuss critical stumbling blocks, including territorial disputes and security guarantees.
“This meeting is specifically for the purpose of finalising everything as much as we can,” Mr Zelensky said on Friday, adding that “a lot can be decided before the new year”.
Alex Croft reports:
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday amid ongoing peace talks to bring an end to the war with Russia, according to a statement by his office.
“The Prime Minister affirmed Canada’s commitment to Ukraine throughout these negotiations and emphasised the need to maintain pressure on Russia to negotiate,” the statement said.
President Donald Trump has reasserted his dominance over peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, insisting that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky “doesn’t have anything” until the American leader approves.
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Mr Trump told Politico. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
About his dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Trump added: “I think it’s going to go good with him. I think it’s going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin,” adding that he expects to speak to him “soon, as much as I want.”
Zelensky and Trump are due to meet on Sunday, with the Ukrainian leader hinting at progress after a “good conversation” with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Several key issues remain unresolved in ongoing negotiations between Ukraine and the United States over a potential framework to end Russia’s war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week.
Speaking about a 20-point plan under discussion, Zelenskyy outlined the most difficult points, noting that Ukraine has already conveyed its position to Washington, which is expected to communicate it to Moscow.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Europe of trying to “torpedo” a peace agreement on Friday.
The comments come ahead of talks between US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.
“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,” Ryabkov said on Russian television about the deal.
“Especially in a context where Kyiv and its sponsors – notably within the European Union, who are not in favour of an agreement – have stepped up efforts to torpedo it.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, to speak to US members of the administration after Moscow received US proposals about a possible Ukrainian peace deal, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev brought paper copies of US peace proposals back to Moscow after a meeting in Miami at the weekend – and the details were being analysed by the Kremlin, Peskov said.
“The information was analysed, and on behalf of President Putin, contact took place between representatives of the administrations of Russia and the United States,” Peskov said. “It was agreed to continue the dialogue.”
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