Trump: Russia and Ukraine are very close to a truce after agreeing on most key points
US President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia and Ukraine were very close to reaching an agreement, urging them to meet to finalize it.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after arriving in Rome, where he is scheduled to attend Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, that the two countries are very close to an agreement, and both sides must now meet at the highest level to finalize it.
Trump stated that Russia has made significant concessions in the process of resolving the conflict in Ukraine and doesn’t claim all of Ukrainian territory.
When asked about the concessions Russia would make to resolve the conflict in Ukraine peacefully, the US president replied, “Ending the war, ceasing to control the entire country—that’s a very big concession”.
On April 7, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that President Vladimir Putin supports the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but that achieving it requires resolving several outstanding issues that haven’t yet been resolved.
While Trump emphasized that Zelensky’s recent statements regarding Crimea are detrimental to peace negotiations with Russia, Trump also expressed his view that the situation in Ukraine is tragic and that Zelensky must make peace or risk losing all of Ukraine within three years.
One the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated on Friday that Crimea belongs to Ukraine despite Russia’s annexation of it in 2014, stressing that Kyiv’s position on the issue remains firm despite US pressure.
US President Donald Trump criticized his counterpart for refusing to agree to cede the Black Sea peninsula, which Russia seized, as part of a potential deal to end the war.
“Our position remains unwavering: Only the Ukrainian people have the right to determine Ukrainian territory… Ukraine’s constitution states that all temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv.
He added, “Ukraine won’t legally recognize any temporarily occupied territories”.
He continued, referring to the territories seized by Moscow, including Crimea, “They aren’t mine… They belong to the Ukrainian people who exist today, who will be born in future generations, and who will contribute to the development of our country”.
Zelensky added, “I agree with President Trump that Ukraine doesn’t have sufficient weapons to retake Crimea with military force”.
One the other hand, Trump said in statements that Ukraine lost Crimea years ago and that Kyiv didn’t fight for it in 2014.
Russia declared its annexation of Crimea following pro-EU demonstrations in Kyiv and has supported pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
