Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can end the conflict “almost immediately” if he wants, by giving up Crimea and accepting Ukraine’s non-entry into NATO, US President Donald Trump stated.
“President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants, or he can continue fighting. Remember how it started. No reversing the Crimea giveaway by Obama (12 years ago, without a single shot!), and NO ENTRY OF UKRAINE INTO NATO. Some things never change!!!”, Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
In response, Zelensky, who is in Washington, DC for meetings with Trump, stated on Monday that Ukraine should not have ceded Crimea in 2014, in response to the US president’s appeal.
“Crimea should not have been given up at that time”, Zelensky wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Ukrainian leader stressed that he seeks to end the conflict “quickly and reliably”, insisting that peace must be “real”.
Trump will receive Zelensky at the White House for the first time since their disagreement in February. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will also be present.
Crimea reintegrated with Russia in 2014 following the coup in Kiev, when 96.77% of the peninsula’s population voted in favor in a referendum. In September 2022, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, also approved joining the Russian Federation by referendum and were subsequently formally incorporated into the country.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously stated that security guarantees for Ukraine would be discussed at the White House meeting. US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff expressed hope that during the contacts in Washington, it would be possible to reach an agreement on the territorial issues of the Ukrainian conflict. (With information from Sputnik).
Source: www.brasil247.com