Vice President J.D. Vance, right, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, as President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington.
| Photo Credit: AP
U.S. President Donald Trump, ahead of an expected weekend meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told Politico that the Ukrainian President “doesn’t have anything until I approve it.”
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Mr. Trump was quoted as saying in an interview published on Friday (December 26, 2025). “So we’ll see what he’s got.” The Republican President believed he could have a productive meeting.
Mr. Zelenskyy will discuss territorial issues, the main stumbling block in talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Mr. Trump in Florida on Sunday (December 28, 2025).
The Ukrainian President on Friday said that he is hoping to agree on a peace framework with Mr. Trump.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday (December 26) that the Kremlin had already been in contact with U.S. representatives since Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev recently met with U.S. envoys in Florida.
“It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue,” he said.
Mr. Trump is engaged in a diplomatic push to end Russia’s all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.
Published – December 27, 2025 10:54 am IST
