U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to greet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he arrives for a meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 17, 2025.
Tom Brenner AFP | Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that he asked for up to 50 years’ worth of security for Ukraine during a weekend meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Commenting on Sunday’s meeting with President Trump in Florida, President Zelensky told reporters that talks with Russia would only be possible after the president and European leaders agree on a peace framework agreement for Ukraine.
Comments reported by Reuters on Monday included Zelenskiy saying that while he has sought up to 50 years of security for Ukraine, the current 20-point peace plan envisages 15 years of guarantees aimed at deterring future Russian aggression.
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Zelenskiy said he planned to meet with European leaders in the coming days to discuss the proposal.
He added that any peace plan should be put to a referendum by the Ukrainian people, noting that a vote to approve or reject the deal should take place during the 60-day ceasefire. “Russia clearly does not want a ceasefire for now,” Zelensky said after days of heavy drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
Ukraine’s comments came after a meeting with President Trump on Sunday at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. President Trump said the talks had gone well, but acknowledged there were still “one or two very thorny issues.”
“I think we’re very close. Maybe very close,” Trump told reporters after leaving the meeting.
Meanwhile, President Zelenskiy called the meeting “really great discussions” with “100% agreement” on security guarantees, but President Trump gave a slightly lower rating when asked about that part of the proposal.
When asked by a reporter what unresolved issues were, President Trump answered that it was about “land.”
“Some of that land has been occupied,” Trump said. “Some of the land may be for sale, but it’s likely to be occupied for months to come, so it’s better to sign a deal now.”
The Russian government has demanded that Ukraine cede the eastern Donbas region to Russia and has so far denied Kiev security. Meanwhile, Ukraine has repeatedly rejected demands to hand over Donbas, which is largely but not completely occupied by Russian forces, to Moscow.
It is unclear whether President Zelenskiy will meet directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin if a peace deal is agreed in principle, with both leaders vehemently refusing to do so in the past.
Asked to comment on the U.S.-Ukraine talks after the phone call, Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: “I don’t know how the meeting went. I can’t judge. After the meeting, the two presidents, the Russian president and the American president, agreed to hold another telephone conversation. After that, we will get information.”
—CNBC’s Hugh Son contributed reporting to this story.
