Global & US Headlines
Trump Hosts Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago, Moves 20-Point Ukraine Peace Plan to 90% Completion
On 28 Dec 2025, after a 75-minute pre-call with Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump met Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida and declared negotiations were in their “final stages,” with no deadline but an aim to settle before year-end.
Focusing Facts
- Both leaders said about 90% of the draft 20-point agreement—covering security guarantees, Donbas governance, Zaporizhzhia plant oversight, and reconstruction finance—has been accepted by Kyiv and Washington.
- Trump’s call with Putin on 28 Dec lasted 1 hour 15 minutes, and a second follow-up call was scheduled for the same day to relay outcomes of the Zelensky meeting.
- The U.S. proposal contemplates Ukraine freezing its NATO bid in exchange for NATO-like guarantees backed by European states.
Context
Great-power brokerage of smaller states’ borders echoes the 1905 Portsmouth Treaty (where the U.S. mediated the Russo-Japanese War) and the 1938 Munich deal—both showing that outside guarantees can end shooting yet sow future disputes if the aggrieved side feels coerced. The Mar-a-Lago summit spotlights three long arcs: the post-Cold-War erosion of once-settled frontiers, Washington’s pivot from direct military aid to transactional diplomacy, and the re-emergence of personality-driven statecraft reminiscent of the Roosevelt-Churchill-Stalin summits of the 1940s. Whether this moment matters in 2125 will hinge on two tests: if territorial concessions lock in a durable European security order, or if they invite revanchism akin to the Korean armistice line that still freezes conflict seven decades on. The rapid, leader-to-leader bargaining underscores how 21st-century conflicts can hinge less on battlefield balance than on the domestic political calendars of the mediators—in this case Trump’s self-imposed “year-end sprint.”
Perspectives
Russian state-owned media
e.g., RT — Celebrate the warmer Trump-Putin relationship as proof that Moscow and Washington are constructively leading the push toward a Ukraine settlement. By framing cordial ties as the key driver, they gloss over Russia’s ongoing missile strikes and present the talks as mainly stalled by Kyiv and the previous Biden posture, reinforcing the Kremlin’s narrative of reasonable Russian intentions.
Right-leaning U.S. media supportive of Trump
e.g., RedState — Cast Trump as a master negotiator in the "final stages" of ending the war, praising his toughness with reporters and framing the meeting as another example of his leadership style. The coverage is overtly boosterish, downplaying the still-unresolved issues (territorial concessions, security guarantees) and substituting colorful anecdotes about lunch and media “trolling” for substantive scrutiny of the draft deal.
Mainstream international outlets
e.g., USA TODAY via AOL, Chosun Ilbo — Acknowledge progress but stress that any agreement hinges on difficult trade-offs such as possible Ukrainian territorial concessions and lingering skepticism in Europe and Kyiv. By highlighting the sticking points and quoting European doubts, they may amplify the perception that the talks are precarious, which attracts readership but could understate momentum reported by negotiators.