US President Donald Trump again urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to come to a peace agreement this week – or face the consequences of American officials pulling out of peace negotiations.
After months of failed ceasefires and peace talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this weekend that the US would give Ukraine and Russia until the end of this week to resolve the years-long war.
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Although the details of the current peace agreement being negotiated have not been made public, rumors that the Kremlin has offered to freeze the war in exchange for formal recognition of Crimea as part of Russia or for some territorial swaps have raised alarm in Ukraine.
“The situation for Ukraine is dire – [Zelensky] can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
Trump also blamed his predecessor, former US President Barack Obama, for Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and Ukrainians for not fighting Moscow to retake the peninsula at the time.
“Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?” Trump said.
Trump also hinted at Russia’s alleged legitimate interests in the peninsula, which the latter used to justify its 2014 annexation.
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“The area also houses, for many years before ‘the Obama handover,’ major Russian submarine bases,” he added.
The American president was responding to comments that Zelensky made on Tuesday.
“Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea,” Zelensky said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday. “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution.”
Holding on to Crimea is no longer possible, according to Trump. “The statement made by Zelenskyy today will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’ and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE.”
American and European officials had planned to convene today in London to further discuss the peace plan, but the meeting was abruptly downgraded last-minute, with Rubio canceling his trip.
Trump appears to be seeking to secure a ceasefire by April 30 so that he can proudly declare he achieved peace within the first 100 days of his presidency, according to a Kyiv Post source in local politics.
“After the ceasefire, we are ready to sit down in any format,” Zelensky told journalists at a briefing a day before the key talks in London on a potential Ukraine settlement.
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