Zelensky Seeks Urgent Meeting With Trump To Negotiate Territorial Concessions ‘Sticking Point’ Directly

Update(1155ET): Since the early morning hours there’s been a steady walk-back on initial headlines that Ukraine has ‘agreed’ to the Trump-proposed peace plan, which has now been condensed to 19 points (down from the initial 28). The White House now says the few issues remaining in talks to end the war are “delicate” but “not insurmountable” – which means that no, the negotiating parties are not at the goal line – and may not actually be all that close.

As for President Zelensky, he has stated after Geneva talks that “we see many prospects that can make the path to peace real”. But he is reportedly now seeking an urgent meeting with President Trump – by Thursday – in order to negotiate the question of territorial concessions in person. As predicted, the Ukrainians aren’t keen on giving up any land. Axios says Zelensky wants this meeting “as soon as possible”. Of course, the Europeans will back these Ukrainian efforts to nix territorial concessions.

Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak told Axios: “I hope the visit of President Zelensky will take place as soon as possible, because … it will be help President Trump to continue his historical mission to end this war.”

Map from BBC showing proposed territorial concessions, but which Zelensky has viewed negatively in terms of inclusion in a final peace deal:

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A US official privy to negotiations is claiming major progress Tuesday, telling ABC News the Ukrainian delegation has agreed to the United States’ potential peace plan, at a moment it’s still being hotly debated, especially among the Europeans.

“The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,” the US official said, but without specifying much in the way of details. “There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal.”

Of course, the proverbial devil is in the details, along with each side’s ‘red lines’ – and so this claim should be taken with caution at this still very early point.

The Trump White House has set a deadline of Thursday, or Thanksgiving Day in America, for the warring sides to reach a deal. This suggests these talks are moving along with intensity and a sense of urgency.

“United States Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held secret talks on Monday with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to follow up on this weekend’s talks with Ukraine in Geneva that were intended to move the Ukraine peace process forward,” ABC cites a US official further as describing.

Oil slides on the optimistic headline that Ukraine has tentatively agreed to the Trump-backed deal…

As we described Monday evening, the Zelensky government has still appeared publicly resistant to any deal which cedes territory to Russian forces. Also most importantly is that the Ukrainian government has said it will reject outside attempts to control its future alliances, which is a reference to the US plan’s call for a commitment that Ukraine never join NATO.

Also injecting some realism in these front-running headlines is The Washington Post Tuesday morning, which writes:

Russia is unlikely to accept changes in the new peace plan to end the war that the U.S. and Ukraine are negotiating over, say analysts, even as U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll is in the United Arab Emirates meeting with a Russian delegation and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected in the United States.

From Moscow’s point of view the most objectionable term is to accept that Ukraine would be given ‘Article 5-style’ security guarantees by the Western alliance. This could be recipe for future major war, if NATO-like guarantees are given.

NEW: Ukraine officially confirms that it reached a deal with the US, Zelensky will soon visit Washington to seal the draft https://t.co/qtu99r22SK

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) November 25, 2025

But Zelensky in his latest statement on X pledged that Ukraine would “never be an obstacle to peace” – but also emphasized the importance of his country remaining independent and sovereign. What that means by the end of this process is still very up in the air at this point.