Trump has surprise phone call with Putin just minutes before crunch meeting with Zelensky over new 20-point peace plan
The US President is hosting his Ukrainian counterpart at Mar-a-Lago, where he has been spending the holidays, at 1pm EST, the White House said.
Donald Trump revealed had a 'very productive' phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin just moments before he is due to meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky arrived in Florida on Sunday morning to discuss a 20-point plan with Trump which could end almost four years of war between Russia and Ukraine.
The US President will host his Ukrainian counterpart at Mar-a-Lago at 1pm EST, when they will discuss a new revision of the much-anticipated plan, the White House said.
It includes security guarantees to protect Ukraine from future invasions by Moscow - primarily through Ukrainian membership in the EU, and maintaining a peacetime army of 800,000 troops funded by Western allies.
Zelensky said the most difficult points to reconcile will be the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and who will take control of a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant.
Writing on Truth Social an hour before he is due to speak with Zelensky, Trump said: 'I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting.'
He did not elaborate on the phone call which may come as a surprise to many given that Putin has shown little interest in negotiating a peace deal, despite Zelensky saying Ukraine is 'willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war'.
It comes just a day after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring 20 more, per the mayor of the Ukrainian capital.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky are poised to discuss three key issues as they discuss a peace agreement which could end almost four years of war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little interest in negotiating a peace deal, while Zelensky has said Ukraine is 'willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war' in the post above
Writing on X on Saturday ahead of the summit, Zelensky said: 'For us, priority number one – or the only priority – is ending the war. For us, the priority is peace.
'We need to be strong at the negotiating table. To be strong, we need the support of the world: Europe and the United States.'
It also comes as top diplomats in Thailand and Cambodia have reached a ceasefire agreement amid their border dispute, ending weeks of fighting which has killed more than 100 people.