{"id":194734,"date":"2025-12-27T02:59:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T02:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-trump-says-he-must-approve-zelensky-bid-ahead-of-peace-talks-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T02:59:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T02:59:27","slug":"ukraine-war-latest-trump-says-he-must-approve-zelensky-bid-ahead-of-peace-talks-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-trump-says-he-must-approve-zelensky-bid-ahead-of-peace-talks-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war latest: Trump says he must \u2018approve\u2019 Zelensky bid ahead of peace talks – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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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<\/a> has said that Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> \u201cdoesn\u2019t have anything until I approve it\u201d ahead of long-awaited peace talks between the leaders<\/a> on Sunday.
\u201cHe doesn’t have anything until I approve it,\u201d Mr Trump reportedly told Politico<\/em><\/a> regarding the Ukrainian leader\u2019s proposal in an exclusive interview. \u201cSo we’ll see what he’s got.\u201d
The US leader appeared warmer about Russia<\/a>\u2019s president Vladimir Putin, saying: \u201cI think it\u2019s going to go good with him. I think it\u2019s going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin,\u201d adding that he would speak to him \u201csoon, as much as I want\u201d.
Mr Zelensky<\/a> 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 \u201c90 per cent ready\u201d.
Earlier, he had hinted at progress on a peace deal between Russia<\/a> and Ukraine<\/a>, following a \u201creally good conversation\u201d with Mr Trump\u2019s 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.
\u201cIt 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,\u201d 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 \u201cresponse\u201d to the \u201cWest\u2019s aggression\u201d, in an interview with state-run news agency Belta.
Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> will meet US president Donald Trump<\/a> 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<\/a> to discuss critical stumbling blocks, including territorial disputes and security guarantees.
\u201cThis meeting is specifically for the purpose of finalising everything as much as we can,\u201d Mr Zelensky said on Friday, adding that \u201ca lot can be decided before the new year\u201d.
Alex Croft reports:<\/em>
Canada\u2019s 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.
\u201cThe Prime Minister affirmed Canada’s commitment to Ukraine throughout these negotiations and emphasised the need to maintain pressure on Russia to negotiate,\u201d the statement said.
President Donald Trump has reasserted his dominance over peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, insisting that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky \u201cdoesn\u2019t have anything\u201d until the American leader approves.
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have anything until I approve it,\u201d Mr Trump told Politico<\/em>. \u201cSo we\u2019ll see what he\u2019s got.\u201d
About his dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Trump added: \u201cI think it\u2019s going to go good with him. I think it\u2019s going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin,\u201d adding that he expects to speak to him \u201csoon, as much as I want.\u201d
Zelensky and Trump are due to meet on Sunday, with the Ukrainian leader hinting at progress after a \u201cgood conversation\u201d with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump\u2019s 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\u2019s 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<\/a>, which is expected to communicate it to Moscow.
Russia\u2019s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Europe of trying to \u201ctorpedo\u201d a peace agreement on Friday.
The comments come ahead of talks between US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.
\u201cOur ability to make the final push and reach an agreement will depend on our own work and the political will of the other party,\u201d Ryabkov said on Russian television about the deal.
\u201cEspecially in a context where Kyiv and its sponsors \u2013 notably within the European Union, who are not in favour of an agreement \u2013 have stepped up efforts to torpedo it.\u201d
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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