Zelensky Says Berlin Talks With Trump Envoys Show ‘Real Progress’ Despite Differences

Security guarantees advance, but Ukraine and U.S. remain divided over territory concessions to Russia

Berlin : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that talks in Berlin with envoys of U.S. President Donald Trump on ending the war with Russia were “not easy” but resulted in “real progress,” particularly on the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine.

Zelensky met for a second consecutive day with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as part of efforts to build on a peace proposal initially put forward by Trump. While welcoming what he described as new and substantial security guarantees offered by Washington, Zelensky acknowledged that serious differences remain over the question of territory.

“There has been sufficient dialogue on the territory, and I think that, frankly speaking, we still have different positions,” Zelensky told reporters, referring to areas occupied by Russian forces since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the talks as a breakthrough, saying they had opened the “chance for a real peace process.” He praised the United States for offering “substantial” legal and material security guarantees, calling the development “a very important step forward.”

From Washington, Trump said he would hold a phone call later Monday with Zelensky and several European leaders meeting in Berlin, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were also expected to take part.

U.S. officials said Washington had proposed strong, NATO-like security guarantees for Ukraine and expressed confidence that Russia would accept the deal, which they described as a potential breakthrough. One official said the guarantees would mirror NATO’s Article Five principle of collective defense and include a “very strong deterrence” through the size and capability of Ukraine’s military.

However, U.S. officials also warned that Ukraine would need to accept the overall deal, noting that Washington has previously ruled out Kyiv’s formal membership in NATO. Trump has repeatedly said Ukraine would likely have to surrender territory, a stance Zelensky has consistently rejected.

According to an official briefed on the talks, U.S. negotiators are pressing Ukraine to cede control of the eastern Donbas regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, most of which are already under Russian occupation. Kyiv has so far refused.

Russia has signalled it will not compromise on its core demands, including territorial claims and Ukraine’s permanent exclusion from NATO. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was awaiting details of the proposals discussed in Berlin.

Merz reaffirmed Germany’s long-term support for Ukraine, condemning what he called “Putin’s criminal attack,” and said lasting peace in Europe would only be possible with “a free, sovereign and strong Ukraine.”