Trump's peace hopes

THE United States is offering Ukraine security guarantees for 15 years as part of a proposed peace plan, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, but he has added he would prefer a commitment of up to 50 years to deter Russia from further attempts to seize its neighbour's land by force.

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US President Donald Trump hosted Mr Zelensky at his Mara-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday, and claimed Ukraine and Russia were "closer than ever before" to a peace settlement.

However, negotiators are still searching for a breakthrough on key issues, including whose forces withdraw from where and the fate of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Mr Trump noted that the months-long US-led negotiations could still collapse, while Mr Zelensky told reporters: "Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end."