Trump meets with Zelenskyy; talks could unlock first Zelenskyy-Putin call in five years: source

Sunday's talks betwixt President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy could pave the mode for the archetypal telephone betwixt Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin successful much than 5 years, a root acquainted with the discussions said.

And portion the Mar-a-Lago gathering was framed arsenic a measurement guardant successful the bid effort with Trump astatine the helm, the root besides described however securing a nonstop Zelenskyy-Putin telephone telephone would beryllium a "diplomatic victory" for the president.

"If Putin had joined successful a telephone Sunday, this would person been the top accomplishment successful the mentation of the bid talks and the archetypal existent measurement successful the bid process," the root told Fox News Digital connected information of anonymity.

"This would beryllium [a] diplomatic triumph for President Trump."

FINNISH PRESIDENT SAYS RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL CLOSER THAN ANY POINT DURING THE WAR

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aft signing a proclamation successful the Oval Office astatine the White House connected April 17, 2025, successful Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

"Trump seems to beryllium the astir palmy mediator due to the fact that the 2 of them, Putin and Zelenskyy, comprehend each different emotionally, and it is simply a challenge."

Trump confirmed Sunday that helium had spoken with Putin up of the Zelenskyy meeting, calling the speech "good and precise productive" successful a Truth Social post.

"I bash judge that we person the makings of a deal," Trump besides told reporters arsenic helium stood adjacent to Zelenskyy aft helium arrived successful Florida connected Sunday, adding helium believes the process tin "move precise rapidly."

"I deliberation we’re successful the last stages of talking, and we’re going to see," Trump said.

"Otherwise, it’s going to spell connected for a agelong time. It’ll either end, oregon it’s going to spell connected for a agelong time, and millions of further radical are going to beryllium killed," the president added.

The Florida gathering came days aft Zelenskyy besides said helium had had a "good conversation" with U.S. peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, some of whom were besides contiguous Sunday.

ZELENSKYY SAYS HE WILL MEET WITH TRUMP 'BEFORE THE NEW YEAR'

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and European leaders airs for a photograph during talks astatine the Chancellery successful Berlin, Dec. 15, 2025. (Lisi Niesner/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

As Zelenskyy approached Sunday's meeting, the root said the Ukrainian person was apt feeling anxious.

"Zelenskyy is usually precise tense earlier specified conversations with President Trump," the root said. "He concentrates for a agelong clip and studies the notes that the International Policy Department and the Foreign Ministry hole for him."

Sunday besides marked the 3rd in-person gathering betwixt Trump and Zelenskyy since Trump returned to office.

At the halfway of discussions was a U.S.-backed, 20-point bid program emerging from weeks of negotiations that would request compromise from Kyiv and Moscow to prosecute and possibly talk straight with Zelenskyy, the root said.

TRUMP SUGGESTS HE'LL CALL FINAL SHOTS ON PEACE DEAL AHEAD OF ZELENSKYY MEETING: 'WE'LL SEE WHAT HE'S GOT'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Donald Trump successful Washington, D.C., connected Aug. 19, 2025.  ( Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"The 1 trouble they person is that Putin has refused to speech to Zelenskyy since July 2020, erstwhile they spoke implicit the Wagner ungraded and the failed cognition to detain Russian Wagner militants." 

"After that, Zelenskyy repeatedly tried to speech to Putin, but helium refused."

"There were windows of accidental for a speech successful August and September 2024, but they disappeared again erstwhile Ukraine invaded the Kursk region," the root said.

The past nonstop interaction betwixt the 2 leaders followed a botched Ukrainian cognition targeting Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Ukrainian quality lured the mercenaries to Belarus and planned to intercept them connected their mode from Minsk to Istanbul, earlier the men were arrested, per The Kyiv Independent.

ZELENSKYY READY TO PRESENT NEW PEACE PROPOSALS TO US AND RUSSIA AFTER WORKING WITH EUROPEAN TALKS

Putin is investigating the boundaries of NATO with craft incursions, allied states say. (Ramil Sitdikov/Pool/Reuters )

"That past telephone betwixt Zelenskyy and Putin came arsenic Ukraine was trying to seizure a radical of Russian Wagner fighters," the root said. "The cognition failed."

Even earlier communications broke down entirely, relations betwixt the 2 leaders were strained, the root said.

"Before that constituent successful 2020, calls betwixt Zelenskyy and Putin were ne'er friendly, and determination was ever hostility betwixt them. During talks, Putin was ever taciturn, and Zelenskyy tried to found a rapport."

"Zelenskyy ever acted subservient toward Putin and pretended to beryllium successful a bully mood, astir arsenic if helium was playing a relation connected stage," the root explained.

"He talked a batch and work from his notes, acrophobic of forgetting something. Sometimes helium would stumble implicit his words oregon suffer way of punctuation."

PUTIN CALLS TRUMP’S PEACE PLAN A ‘STARTING POINT’ AS HE WARNS UKRAINE TO PULL BACK OR FACE 'FORCE'

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the 20-point plan, which U.S. officials accidental is astir 90% complete, could see constricted Ukrainian unit withdrawals from parts of eastbound Ukraine. (Putin photo: Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via Reuters; Zelenskyy photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)

"When Putin stayed silent, Zelenskyy would ever inquire politely, ‘What bash you think, Vladimir Vladimirovich?’"

"Putin was conscionable ne'er talkative," the root said.

The Florida talks came arsenic Kyiv signaled a imaginable displacement successful its negotiating posture. Zelenskyy has said the 20-point plan, which U.S. officials accidental is astir 90% complete, could see constricted Ukrainian unit withdrawals from parts of eastbound Ukraine without formally recognizing Russian control, on with the instauration of demilitarized zones.

He besides floated submitting the program to a nationalist referendum if Moscow agrees to a 60-day ceasefire.

Zelenskyy has drawn a steadfast enactment connected information guarantees, insisting Ukraine needs legally binding assurances from the U.S. to deter aboriginal Russian aggression.

TRUMP TOUTS 'PROGRESS' ON UKRAINE-RUSSIA DEAL, ADMITS IT'S 'ONE OF THE MORE DIFFICULT' CONFLICTS TO SOLVE

Rescuers enactment connected the country of a gathering damaged by a Russian onslaught successful Kyiv, Ukraine, connected Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025.  (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

"For us, it is precise important that determination is simply a awesome that we privation legally binding information guarantees," Zelenskyy told Ukrainian journalists Saturday. "This chiefly depends connected President Trump," helium added.

"Ukraine is consenting to bash immoderate it takes to halt this war," Zelenskyy besides wrote connected X this weekend.

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"For us, precedence fig 1 — oregon the lone precedence — is ending the war. For us, the precedence is peace. We request to beryllium beardown astatine the negotiating table. To beryllium strong, we request the enactment of the world: Europe and the United States."

Fox News Digital has reached retired to the Kremlin and President Zelenskyy's bureau for comment.