(L/R) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump pose for a family photo with other European leaders in the Cross Hall of the White House on August 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Tensions between US President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy are rising again after the White House leader accused the Ukrainian head of state of not yet reading the US peace plan.
“I’m a little disappointed that President Zelenskiy still hasn’t read the proposal as of a few hours ago,” Trump told reporters Sunday night. Trump added: “The people love this book, but he hasn’t read it yet.”
“If you think about Russia, you’d rather have the whole country, and I think Russia would be fine with that, but I don’t know if Mr. Zelensky would be fine with that,” Trump said.
It is unclear which version of the U.S.-backed peace plan for Ukraine Trump was referring to, but his comments came a day after talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials ended in Miami with no clear agreement on the latest version of the draft peace plan.
Several versions of the so-called peace plan existed, as Russia and Ukraine have been negotiating key details within the deal through U.S. intermediaries, particularly regarding Russia’s demands for territorial concessions and Ukraine’s security demands.
Outgoing President Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Sunday that a deal to end the war is “very close” and depends on resolving two major outstanding issues: the future of Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas, which is extensively occupied by Russian forces, and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a more cautious assessment of the progress of the talks in his speech on Sunday night, saying that the Miami meeting between Rustem Umerov, the new chief negotiator, General Andriy Khnatov, Ukraine’s military chief of staff, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkov, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner was “not easy, but it was constructive.”
Zelenskiy said he would meet with the negotiating team in person, rather than over the phone, to provide a detailed report, pointing out somewhat pointedly that “some issues can only be discussed in person.”
Negotiations move to London
President Zelensky is in London for Monday’s talks as Kiev and its European allies scramble to ensure Ukraine’s territorial integrity and future security (and Europe’s) remain intact amid mounting pressure from the United States to agree to a peace proposal that was initially seen as highly favorable to Russia.
President Zelensky will meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for talks that will “focus on ongoing peace negotiations and next steps,” Downing Street said on Sunday. Zelenskiy is also scheduled to travel to Brussels and Rome for further talks this week.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and other European leaders, and speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron during negotiations to end Russia’s war with Ukraine at the White House in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025.
Alexander Drago | Reuters
Ukraine’s European allies are anxious to be seen and heard as the peace plan is discussed without their involvement, especially given the security implications of the deal across the continent.
Britain and France are leading proponents of a “coalition of the willing,” a group of countries that could be part of a “reassurance force” to support post-war Ukraine’s security.
But Russia strongly opposes the idea of sending foreign troops to Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin saying they would be a “legitimate target.”
President Trump’s latest national security strategy, released last Friday, says Europe is at risk of “civilizational annihilation” and that it is “far from clear” whether European countries can “remain reliable allies”, making European leaders even more nervous about the possibility of the United States acceding to Russia’s demands. The document also states that the US government should re-establish strategic stability with Russia.
The Kremlin on Sunday praised the new strategy as largely consistent with Russia’s “vision.”
Although the United States and Russia share a desire for closer ties in the future, a certain distance remains regarding an immediate peace agreement regarding Ukraine.
A meeting between Mr. Witkov, Mr. Kushner and Russian officials in Moscow last week also ended without any progress, with Yuri Ushakov, an adviser to the Russian president, telling reporters that the meeting was “very useful, very constructive, very useful,” but that more work needs to be done.
