Ukraine War Talks Stall Over Territory as Trump Pushes Peace Deal

The dispute over occupied territories in Ukraine remains a sticking point in negotiations between kyiv and Moscow, as President Donald Trump seeks to help end the war between the neighboring countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News’ Bret Baier that a peace deal with Moscow could be reached after he met Sunday with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

“Even with just one question today, we were very close,” Zelenskyy told Baier on “Special Report.” “I think we have a problem with one issue: It’s about territories.”

Putin mocks European leaders by insisting that Russia’s war aims in Ukraine will be achieved by force or diplomacy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky both met separately with President Donald Trump. Even though a peace deal is near, territorial conflicts remain, Zelenskyy said. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP; Christian Bruna/Getty)

Key issues regarding the territory remain unresolved in negotiations that have taken place for months. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently said the West must recognize that Russia holds the advantage on the battlefield.

Zelensky is reluctant to cede territories held by Russian forces since the start of the war in 2022 to Moscow.

Even though a peace deal is near, territorial conflicts remain, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. (Francesco Fotia/Reuters)

Zelensky suggested that Ukraine might be willing to withdraw from the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia wants to annex, only if Ukrainian voters agree in a referendum.

TRUMP MAKES ‘HUGE PROGRESS’ BUT SAYS HE WILL MEET WITH PUTIN AND ZELENSKYY ‘ONLY WHEN’ PEACE DEAL IS FINAL

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands at the start of a joint news conference following a meeting at the Trump Club at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday. (PA)

“I think the compromise, if we create a free economic zone like we have, and we have to go back a few kilometers. That means Russia has to take minor steps back a few kilometers,” Zelenskyy said. “This free economic zone will have specific rules. Something like this referendum is the way to accept it or not to accept it.”

Putin does not want peace, Zelensky said, despite the rising death toll among Russian forces.

“I don’t trust Putin. He doesn’t want success for Ukraine,” Zelensky said. “I believe he can say such words to President Trump…but it’s not really true.”

After his meeting with Trump, Zelensky said they were in 90% agreement on a draft 20-point plan, although Moscow showed no signs of letting up on its territorial demands.

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The meeting took place after Trump spoke on the phone with Putin, during which they both agreed that a deal must be reached to end Europe’s longest war in 80 years.

It also came a day after Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital of kyiv a day earlier. Moscow also claimed that Putin’s house in the Novgorod region was the target of a Ukrainian drone attack overnight, which Ukraine denies.