US President Donald Trump remarked: “I believe we have an agreement with Russia. We should finalize an agreement with Zelenskyy. I thought he would be easier to negotiate with.”
Dmitry Peskov, press secretary to the Russian President, told Le Point that the war in Ukraine would end immediately if Kyiv agrees to withdraw troops from the four regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson.
Concurrently, France asserted that European countries believe any peace deal must respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
However, Polish President Andrzej Duda indicated that peace and an end to the war can only be achieved through mutual concessions, including those from Ukraine.
Trump further stated that Crimea, specifically, “was lost many years ago under President Barack Obama’s administration, and it isn’t even up for discussion.” He criticized President Zelenskyy for his stance on Crimea, claiming it is detrimental to peace negotiations, adding that the US is not demanding recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.
In response, Zelenskyy referenced the Crimean Declaration made during Trump’s first term, which stated the refusal to acknowledge the Kremlin’s demands for sovereignty over territory acquired by force in violation of international law.