OP of Ukraine hopes for a Zelensky–Trump meeting 'as soon as possible' – Axios

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said this in an interview with Axios on Tuesday, Ukrinform reports.

However, Yermak did not name a potential date for the meeting.

According him, holding a meeting between the Ukrainian and American leaders could have symbolic significance, the outlet writes, citing him as follows:

"I hope the visit of President Zelensky will take place as soon as possible, because ... it will be help President Trump to continue his historical mission to end this war," Yermak said.

He added that Trump could say: "Because [Trump] can say: 'Look, this is confirmed and agreed, our position with the Ukrainians. We support it, and we continue now to speak with the Russians.'"

According to Yermak, the main disagreement the leaders of Ukraine and the United States must overcome concerns Russia's territorial claims. At the same time, he noted that the current draft plan aligns with Ukraine's interests and respects its "red lines."

"I think it now looks very solid. I think it's a historical decision of President Trump and the United States to issue these strong security guarantees, which Ukraine never had before," Yermak said.

He stressed that the security guarantees will be "legally binding" and that the United States had a "positive reaction" to the idea of formalizing them in an official agreement.

Yermak emphasized that Ukraine will not abandon its constitutional obligation to pursue NATO membership in the future, but noted: "we are living in reality now. We not in NATO."

Yermak also said the previous 28-point plan had been "unacceptable," but that this is now in the past, suggesting it should be forgotten.

"My proposal is to forget about the 28 points. Life changes so quickly that now I think it's in the past. This is great, that our partners support us and listen us and are working to make a plan which will be acceptable for Ukraine," he said.

Yermak also praised his counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, and U.S. presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

He also stressed that the Russian attacks on Kyiv during the night of November 24–25 are a sign that Russia does not intend to make peace. However, in his view, if the United States and Ukraine can agree on a joint position, and if Trump can compel Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to negotiate on those terms, the end of the war may be close.

As Ukrinform reported, the U.S. peace plan to end the war in Ukraine was reduced from 28 to 19 points following negotiations in Geneva.

Archive photo: OP