President Zelensky wants to discuss the peace plan with Donald Trump by the end of January at the latest

If Russia blocks the peace talks, Ukraine will continue to defend itself, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared on Saturday after talks with the national security advisers of allied countries. He also announced that he would like to meet again with US President Donald Trump by the end of January at the latest to discuss a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. It was reported by AFP and RBC-Ukraine.

“If Russia blocks everything – and as I said, it depends on our partners – if our partners do not force Russia to end the war, there will be another way: to defend ourselves,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference.

International support of Ukraine

Representatives from 15 countries, including Britain, France and Germany, as well as representatives of the EU and NATO, met in Ukraine on Saturday. They came to Kyiv to discuss the latest draft of the American peace plan. Zelenskyy said after the meeting that the talks are progressing on the issues of security guarantees, the restoration of Ukraine and the basic framework for its real reconstruction.

“The first results of today’s work with the national security advisors of the partner countries. European partners, Canada, the EU and NATO are involved, and we are also communicating with the American side. Thank you all for your support,” he wrote on the X network. He also stated that everything that is being worked on must be effective, dignified and contribute to the establishment of peace that would last for decades. According to him, this vision of Ukraine is fully in line with the vision of its key allies.

Plans for further negotiations

“Cooperation with advisers continues. We are preparing meetings in Europe next week. We are also preparing for meetings in the United States,” the Ukrainian president added.

After Saturday’s negotiations, a meeting of the coalition of the willing will take place in France on January 6 at the level of the leaders of its member states. Subsequently, another meeting will be held at the level of advisers, after which the meetings of the leaders of the European states and US President Donald Trump will be prepared.

“(Talks in Europe) will last one or two days. We will see how things develop. Then, I think, we will prepare for a meeting in the United States at the level of leaders in a wider circle. We would like all this to happen during January, by the end of January,” RBC-Ukraine quoted Zelensky as saying.

The fight for Ukrainian territories

The Ukrainian president, who last met with Trump on Dec. 28 at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, announced a few days later that some of the documents on the settlement of the war, which were drawn up as part of the negotiation process, would be ready for signature in January.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been going on for almost four years. Currently, Russia controls almost a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it illegally annexed in 2014. Moscow claims the entire Donbas, which consists of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, including those parts that it has not yet conquered.