Claiming that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might stop the conflict “almost immediately” if he so chose, US President Donald Trump has turned on pressure on Ukraine to accept a deal ending Russia’s war.
On Sunday, a day before Zelenskyy’s high-profile White House trip, Trump asserted that Crimea’s reentrance and Ukraine’s NATO membership should be left off any agreement.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump said on Sunday.
“Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
European leaders, including European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron, are in Washington with Zelenskyy out of concerns that Trump might pursue an arrangement seen as overly kind to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Refuting Trump’s stance, Zelenskyy claimed that concessions like Crimea had only strengthened Moscow. “Crimea should not have been abandoned then, much as Ukrainians did not abandon Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022,” he stated on X. “Ukrainians are fighting for their country, for their independence. Peace must be enduring.”
Trump has hinted a settlement may involve “land swaps,” an idea Zelenskyy has firmly rejected. Macron warned that giving ground to Russia would risk “laying the ground for future conflicts.”
During Trump’s recent meeting with Putin in Alaska, US special envoy Steve Witkoff stated Moscow had accepted a US-backed “Article 5-like” guarantee, alluding to NATO’s collective defense clause. Secretary of State Marco Rubio advised, nevertheless, that peace was still afar.
“We’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement,” Rubio told ABC News, adding that key disagreements remain notwithstanding “progress in identifying potential areas of agreement.”
The White House discussions are expected to test whether Trump can keep transatlantic unity while negotiating a compromise that alters Ukraine’s war.
