Donald Trump has just accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of making “inflammatory” statements over Crimea while the US is still pushing for a quick end to the Ukraine war.
The US has been trying to broker peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv for months, but Vladimir Putin – who started the war in February 2022 – has repeatedly dragged his heels.
Even when Trump has offered to resolve the conflict on terms favourable to the Kremlin with very few concessions, Putin has resisted.
Instead, the White House has reportedly suggested Kyiv recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea to secure peace.
But the Ukrainian president has already rejected this idea, telling reporters on Tuesday: “There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine.”
In a lengthy post on Truth Social on Wednesday, the US president hit back.
Trump accused Zelenskyy of “boasting” that Ukraine will not legally recognise the occupation of Crimea.
He said: “This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion.
“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?”
He continued: “It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War.
“He has nothing to boast about!
“The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.
“I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever.
“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. I look forward to being able to help Ukraine, and Russia, get out of this Complete and Total MESS, that would have never started if I were President!”
Before he was re-elected last year, the US president promised to resolve the conflict within 24 hours.
Now, more than three months after his January inauguration, Trump and his top team have repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the whole peace process unless they see significant process.
Trump’s secretary of state Marco Rubio also surprised western allies when he announced – at the last minute – that he would be skipping the planned peace discussions in London on Wednesday, citing scheduling issues.
The whole occasion was then downgraded from a meeting between senior ministers to officials.
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