Former President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Sunday, as the two leaders sought to advance discussions aimed at resolving Russia’s ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe.

Greeting Zelensky at the estate’s entrance, Trump expressed optimism about the peace talks, confidently telling reporters that there were promising prospects for reaching a deal to end the war.

In a subsequent joint press conference, both Trump and Zelensky conveyed that significant strides had been made regarding a 20-point peace proposal championed by Zelensky. However, they acknowledged that further efforts are necessary to fully resolve the conflict.

“Our meeting was extremely productive. We tackled what some might say is 95 percent of the issues—I’m not sure about the exact percentage—but we’ve certainly made substantial progress towards ending this war,” Trump remarked during the press event.

Here are three key takeaways from the meeting:

Zelensky: Negotiators agreed to ’90 percent’ of 20-point peace plan

After the meeting, which included Trump, Zelensky, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Olha Stefanishyna, the Ukrainian leader said that negotiators agreed to “90 percent” of his 20-part peace framework. 

“We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework … [the] 20-point peace plan [is] 90 percent agreed,” Zelensky said, standing beside Trump.

Zelensky drafted the proposal in response to the Trump administration proposing a 28-point peace plan last month. 

Under the plan, Ukraine would receive security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe, and would be able to join the European Union at a specific date in the future. The eastern European nation would also maintain its armed forces at their current levels of 800,000, while the fighting in Donetsk will be halted at the current battle lines — with Ukrainian and Russian forces withdrawing to create a demilitarized zone overseen by internal forces.  

The proposal calls for similar joint withdrawals in Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, while Russia also would withdraw from Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv. 

Zelensky’s plan also calls for Ukraine to receive $800 billion in aid to rebuild its infrastructure and economy after the war. 

The Ukrainian leader said Sunday that the U.S. side agreed “100 percent” with the sections of the framework outlining security guarantees, with the U.S., Ukraine and European countries “almost” in agreement on joint guarantees. After their meeting, Zelensky and Trump held a phone call with European leaders. 

Zelensky also said that the prosperity plan to rebuild Ukraine is “being finalized.”

Trump, meanwhile, said the sides have “made a lot of progress” and expressed optimism about ending the nearly four-year conflict. 

“We’ll see if it gets done, but it’s very close, certainly,” the president added after the meeting.

Trump says land is major sticking point for peace

When asked about “the thorniest issues still unresolved” by a reporter during the press conference, Trump responded that land was a notable one.

“I think the land — you’re talking about — some of that land has been taken. Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months — and you’re better off making a deal now,” Trump said in his answer.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has historically had a main aim to secure specific portions of Ukrainian land. The Russian leader has said he will continue fighting until Ukraine pulls back its troops from every Ukrainian region annexed by Russia almost four years ago, The Associated Press has reported.

“We respect the territory which we control. And of course, our attitude is very clear,” Zelensky said during the meeting.

Future negotiations to take place

During the press conference on Sunday, Zelensky said the U.S. and Ukraine came to an agreement to “meet in upcoming weeks to finalize all discussed matters and we agreed with President Trump that he will host us, maybe in Washington — European leaders and Ukrainian delegation, yes, in January.”

Trump also said the peace process was “not a one-day issue,” but boasted about progress so far. He also did not rule out a trip to Ukraine if a peace plan is put in place.

“I’d have no problem with doing it, I have no problem with doing — it would — don’t anticipate it,” Trump said of a Ukraine trip. “Would like to get the deal done and not necessarily have to go. I’ve offered to go and speak to their parliament and — you know — if that would help.”

Zelensky added later that Trump was “welcome” to speak to the Ukrainian parliament.

“I thank President Trump @POTUS and his team for the negotiations. I thank the United States for its support. Together, we must — and can — implement our vision for the sequencing of steps toward peace,” Zelensky said in a post on the social platform X Sunday after the meeting.