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US President Donald Trump and the First Lady arrived on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, as questions continued to swirl over the administration's approach to Ukraine peace efforts.
On Sunday, Trump said, "I have to say that I'm a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn't yet read the peace proposal," signalling frustration with Kyiv's response to recent diplomatic outreach. Amid those concerns, Trump's eldest son suggested that the president could walk away from Ukraine peace talks amid repeated allegations of corruption involving senior Ukrainian officials. Speaking at the Doha Forum, Donald Trump Jr. claimed Ukraine was "a far more corrupt country than Russia" and described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "one of the great marketers of all time." When asked whether his father might withdraw from peace discussions, Trump Jr replied, "I think he may." He added that this was his personal view, as he has not played a prominent public role in recent negotiations. These comments followed three days of meetings in Miami between delegations from Kyiv and Washington. Both sides described the talks as productive, but Ukrainian officials said there were few concrete breakthroughs and that unresolved questions remain over security guarantees and territorial matters. Ukraine has long faced corruption concerns, and recent developments have intensified scrutiny. Andriy Yermak, a top aide and influential figure in peace negotiations, resigned after anti-corruption agencies raided his home in November, highlighting the continuing challenges within the country's political system. Providing a direct update on the state of diplomacy, President Volodymyr Zelensky said peace negotiations with the United States have been "constructive" but "not easy". Zelensky spoke by phone on Saturday with President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. "The American representatives know the basic Ukrainian positions," Zelensky said. "The conversation was constructive, although not easy." His remarks come ahead of planned discussions in London today involving Zelensky, UK prime minister Keir Starmer, French president Emmanuel Macron, and German chancellor Friedrich Merz. At the same time, the Kremlin welcomed Trump's new national security strategy, saying that it "corresponds in many ways to our vision." The strategy warned that Europe faces "civilisational erasure" and said Washington aims to re-establish strategic stability with Russia. On Sunday, Trump's outgoing Ukraine envoy said a deal to end the conflict was "really close" and now hinges on resolving two major issues--the future of the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. (ANI)
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