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President Donald Trump claimed "we have the makings of a deal" following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Sunday (December 28), but warned "millions" more people will be killed in the ongoing invasion by Russia if one isn't reached soon.
“I do believe that we have the makings of a deal. It’s good for Ukraine, good for everybody. It’s very important,” Trump told reporters while standing next to Zelenskyy outside the entrance for his resort's main dining room on Sunday via the New York Post.
“There’s nothing more important,’’ he claimed. “I solved eight wars, and this is the most difficult one.”
“Millions of additional people will be killed, millions, and no one wants that,’’ Trump added.
The meeting was believed to be a sign of significant progress in negotiations on a peace deal, with Trump having previously said he'd only meet with Zelenskyy if he felt an agreement was close to being reached. The Ukrainian president shared an update on his X account Friday (December 26) morning following a briefing from his top negotiator Rustem Umerov.
"Rustem Umerov reported on his latest contacts with the American side. We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future. A lot can be decided before the New Year. Glory to Ukraine!" Zelenskyy wrote.
Trump advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, had previously met with top negotiators from both Russia and Ukraine one weekend prior after several meetings during the past two months. A senior U.S. official described the ongoing negotiations between Umerov and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev as "positive and constructive" last week.
"We've gone as far as possible with the Russians and the Ukrainians. We've made more progress in the last two weeks than the last year. We want to push the ball into the goal. We're heading in the right direction," the U.S. official added.