Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly prepared to bring President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan to a vote in Ukraine if Russia agrees to honor a 60-day ceasefire.
Zelensky’s plan for a national referendum was first reported by Axios ahead of his planned Sunday meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Ukraine hopes the nearly four-year war will come to a swift end after the meeting, which its president says will be focused on finalizing the 20-point framework document and a potential ceasefire timeline.
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“I think now we are at the next level, and that’s why we need to negotiate with presidents,” Zelensky told Axios on Friday. “We want to finish it as quickly as possible. That’s why I count on this meeting.”
Territorial concessions demanded of Ukraine and security guarantees provided to the war-torn nation by the United States have remained sticking points during the peace process with Russia.
Zelensky wants to negotiate a better position on territory in his meeting with Trump. However, if the issue is not resolved, he plans to test the peace plan with a referendum. That way, Ukrainian citizens would have a say in whether their government ought to cede land in exchange for lasting peace.
In the case of a referendum, Zelensky said Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would visit Ukraine to make their case for the U.S.-led peace deal. The Ukrainian leader suggested a potential visit from Trump could also be beneficial for the peace efforts.
Witkoff and Kushner last spoke with Ukrainian negotiators on Christmas Day. Zelensky voiced his satisfaction with the “very good conversation.”
Zelensky spoke with several European allies, including Denmark and Germany, on Friday as he prepares for the high-stakes meeting at Mar-a-Lago this weekend.
“We spoke with [German Chancellor Friedrich Merz] about the preparations for the meeting with President Trump,” he said on X. “I briefed him on our work with the U.S. envoys – we all recall the Berlin meeting format and the productivity that was achieved there. This is exactly how we continue to work. We agreed to continue acting together with Europeans.”
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A comprehensive peace deal has been met with much resistance from Russia, which continues to launch aerial attacks against Ukrainian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the last set of drone strikes against Ukraine on the night leading into Christmas Day. The attack was met with severe criticism from bipartisan U.S. lawmakers in a joint statement.
Regarding security guarantees, Zelensky said Ukraine is “ready with these documents” but noted there are some “technical” issues to discuss further with Trump. Both the U.S. and Ukraine would need to ratify the security guarantees in their respective legislatures to make them valid.