The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly ruled out any territorial concessions to Russia

US President Donald Trump has said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky “want a deal” to end the conflict. They remain at odds, however, over the issue of territory, with Zelensky ruling out any concessions.

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump said that while “there were times” when neither side wanted to reach a diplomatic settlement, “now I think they both want to make a deal.”

He added that the “main hold up” is the territorial dispute. “It’s complex... You have you have streets, you have rivers, you have everything,” he said.

Moscow insists that a sustainable peace is only possible if Ukraine withdraws from the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye – which voted to join Russia in 2022 – and commits to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification.

The Ukrainian leader has ruled out any territorial concessions to Russia. Earlier this month, Trump singled out Zelensky as the main obstacle to a peace agreement, saying, “Ukraine is less ready to make a deal” than Moscow.

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Trump also welcomed the prospect of the first three-way talks involving Russian, US, and Ukrainian delegations in the United Arab Emirates, stating that “anytime we meet it’s good.”

His remarks came after a late-night meeting in Moscow on Thursday between Putin and a US delegation including Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the discussions as “substantive, constructive and very frank,” but reiterated that a settlement hinges on resolving the issue of territory.

The diplomatic push also followed a Trump-Zelensky meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Following the talks, Zelensky acknowledged that territorial issues remain unresolved and suggested that the trilateral meeting in the UAE could allow the parties to share options on how to address these points.

The Financial Times reported that while Zelensky had hoped to finalize and sign pre-negotiated documents on Ukraine’s economic recovery and security after the end of the conflict, he left the talks without a deal.