Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is flying to Florida this week for a high-stakes sit-down with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where both leaders will attempt to hammer out a peace framework to end the grinding war that has bled Europe for years. The meeting centers on a newly revised 20-point peace proposal that Kyiv says is nearly finished, and it represents a real chance to pivot from endless conflict toward a negotiated outcome.
At the heart of the talks are the hard realities every realist has warned about: territory, security guarantees, and control of strategic sites like the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Reports say the draft is about 90 percent complete but stalls over demands from Moscow to keep seized ground and Kyiv’s insistence on sovereignty and a referendum to legitimize any deal — no magic solutions, only tough bargaining.
The trip comes amid renewed Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities, an ugly reminder that the clock is running and that the costs of inaction are measured in civilian lives and shattered infrastructure. Kyiv endured heavy missile and drone strikes just days before the visit, underscoring the urgency President Trump has used to justify pushing a fresh diplomatic track.
Conservatives should be clear-eyed: a U.S.-brokered peace that ends the killing is worth fighting for, but it must prioritize American interests and real security guarantees rather than open-ended commitments that keep our troops and dollars hostage. President Trump is right to push concrete terms — including NATO-style guarantees not full membership — that protect Ukraine’s future without chaining Washington to another perpetual war.
Don’t expect the overseas cocktail circuit to cheer every pragmatic move; European capitals are nervy about any compromise that appears to reward Putin, even as their own citizens grow war-weary and leaders scramble to square rhetoric with reality. That tension is predictable: allies want solidarity, but many now recognize that the only viable path may be a negotiated settlement that keeps Ukraine independent while dialing back a constant war footing.
Americans should also remember how badly things can fray in diplomacy — last February’s Oval Office exchange between the two presidents exposed the raw edges of this relationship and showed that Zelenskyy and Trump are not trading sugar-coated talking points. That public spat strained ties but also made one thing clear: blunt conversations are sometimes necessary to cut through bureaucracy and force results.
If the Mar‑a‑Lago meeting produces progress, it could open the door to broader diplomacy — even talks that involve Moscow down the line — but Republicans in Congress and the American people must demand transparency, enforceable security guarantees, and protections for taxpayers. We should support smart, tough diplomacy that ends the bloodshed and prevents Ukraine from becoming a permanent U.S. ward, not another open-ended expense and strategic ambiguity.
This moment is a test of conservative foreign policy: will we cling to the comfortable posture of endless funding and moral posturing, or will we insist on results that secure peace, defend Western interests, and respect American sovereignty? The answer should be clear to every hardworking patriot — back peace that pays dividends in stability, not a blank check for perpetual war.
