Alperen Aktas
November 26, 2025•Update: November 26, 2025
ISTANBUL
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine and the US continued work on an updated framework for a potential peace deal to end the war with Russia, stressing that its principles “can be developed into deeper agreements” as Kyiv seeks coordinated security guarantees.
In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy said he held discussions with Ukraine’s negotiating team on the text prepared with US officials in Geneva.
“I count on continued active cooperation with the American side and (US) President (Donald) Trump,” he said, adding that “much depends on the United States because it’s America’s strength that Russia takes most seriously.”
He thanked all partners supporting Ukraine.
In a separate message, Zelenskyy said he met with Canada’s Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, Chrystia Freeland, focusing on energy resilience, infrastructure repair and encouraging Canadian business involvement in rebuilding efforts.
He expressed gratitude to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Canadian people and Freeland for their “unwavering support,” including contributions to Ukraine’s air defense and the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative providing weapons for Kyiv’s defense needs.
Addressing participants of a virtual Coalition of the Willing meeting involving the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, Zelenskyy underscored the need for unity and transparency in security discussions, insisting that decisions on Ukraine must include Kyiv and that broader European and Indo-Pacific partners should also be involved.
“We firmly believe – security decisions about Ukraine must include Ukraine…Because when something is decided behind the back of a country or its people, there is always a high risk that it simply will not work,” he told the meeting, thanking partners for remaining “coordinated and united.”
Zelenskyy said the framework produced at the Geneva talks on Sunday between US and Ukrainian officials is now “on the table,” adding that Ukraine is ready to move forward with the US “with the personal engagement of President Trump” alongside European partners.
He said he is prepared to meet Trump to discuss “sensitive points,” noting that the presence of European leaders could be helpful.
He also warned that the war remains ongoing, noting a “massive attack” on Ukraine the previous night and emphasizing the need for daily defense and resilience support.
He reiterated calls to maintain sanctions on Russia, begin channeling frozen Russian assets toward Ukraine’s protection and finalize a workable plan for deploying the Coalition of the Willing’s proposed “reassurance force” for Ukraine.
