Zelensky Is Headed to Mar-a-Lago

Ukraine's leader says he's about to sit down with President Trump again as talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war intensify. "We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level—with President Trump in the near future," wrote Volodymyr Zelensky on social media. "A lot can be decided before the New Year." Axios reports the meeting is expected to happen Sunday at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The Ukraine leader spoke Thursday with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the pair also met with Ukraine and Russian negotiators.

The pending Mar-a-Lago meeting comes as Kyiv and Washington refine a revised 20-point peace framework that the United States intends to present to the Kremlin. The main sticking point remains territorial concessions, notes Reuters, and Zelensky has floated the idea of a demilitarized zone in the east. However, the New York Times reports that analysts don't expect Russia to accept the current draft plan. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Thursday cited "slow but steady progress" in talks with Washington, but the Kremlin has offered little sign it is prepared to end the war, per the Times. Still, Zelensky said he now expects "intensive" diplomacy.