US needs 'answers' before next meeting with Zelensky, Trump says
European officials want to arrange a meeting this coming meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and American leadership to discuss peace in Ukraine, but the White House first needs "answers," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Dec. 10.
Ukraine has been negotiating with European and American officials in recent weeks in hopes of revising a new U.S.-backed peace deal to better reflect Kyiv's interests.
Trump told reporters that he spoke with the leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom on Dec. 10.
"We discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words, and we'll see what happens," he said. "I mean, we're waiting to hear answers."
According to Trump, the European leaders want to hold a meeting involving both him and Zelensky in Europe this weekend, but the White House requires further persuasion before agreeing to attend.
"They would like us to go to a meeting over the weekend in Europe, and we'll make a determination depending on what they come back with," he said. "We don't want to be wasting time."
Trump did not discuss the details of any proposed peace framework but said Zelensky needs to be "realistic." He also mused aloud about Ukraine's next round of presidential elections.
"I think (Zelensky) has to be realistic and I do wonder about, how long is it going to be before they have an election," Trump said. "It's a democracy. It's been a long time."
A day earlier, Zelensky announced that Ukraine had revised the original 28-point plan to a set of 20 points in conjunction with European partners. He also said the 20-point plan would be the centerpiece of a threefold peace framework involving a peace agreement, security guarantees, and reconstruction.
On the same day, Zelensky told reporters that Ukraine could be ready to hold ready to hold elections during Russia's full-scale war if the U.S. and European allies work to ensure security.
Zelensky then said he discussed the issue with members of the Ukrainian parliament on Dec. 10.
"I will not allow any speculation against Ukraine," the president said in his evening address.
"If our partners, including our key partner in Washington, talk so much and so specifically about the elections in Ukraine, about elections under martial law, then we must provide legitimate Ukrainian answers to every question and every doubt."
Presidential, parliamentary, and local elections in Ukraine are banned under martial law, which went into effect after Russia's full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. While Kyiv has previously held firm on the need to postpone elections until the end of the war — or at least a ceasefire — Trump's emphasis on elections in the latest push for a deal have brought about a shift.
Polling also shows Zelensky's popularity to have hit a low point in the fallout of a major corruption scandal that saw his second-in-command, Andriy Yermak, resign from office.
Though Trump has expressed impatience with Ukraine for slow progress on a peace agreement, the Kremlin meanwhile has given no sign of easing its maximalist demands — including calls for Ukraine to cede territory it still controls.
