Trump tells Zelenskiy to give up Crimea, agree to never join NATO
Arriving in Washington late on Sunday, Zelenskiy said he hoped “shared strength with America and with our European friends will compel Russia to real peace.”
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO or reclaim Russian-occupied Crimea as part of any negotiations with Moscow, a statement that could complicate talks with European leaders and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington on Monday.
Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform hours before the White House meeting, said Zelenskiy could "end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to." He added: "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!!!"
The comments come ahead of Oval Office talks with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, and Zelenskiy. European officials are expected to push back against any US-backed plan that would involve Ukraine ceding territory, says The Guardian.
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Arriving in Washington late on Sunday, Zelenskiy said he hoped "shared strength with America and with our European friends will compel Russia to real peace."
The meeting follows a Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday that Western diplomats described as a setback for Kyiv. Trump has defended the encounter as "a great meeting" and said on Sunday that "big progress" was made on Russia, without elaborating.
European leaders are expected to reaffirm support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and press for further sanctions on Moscow. Starmer, in a statement before the meeting, praised Trump's efforts to end the war but said "the path to peace" could not be decided without Zelenskiy, reports The Guardian.
Russia's envoy to international organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Monday that any peace deal should include security guarantees for both Ukraine and Moscow.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that Putin had, for the first time, agreed in principle to allow the US and Europe to provide Ukraine with protection outside NATO structures, similar to the alliance's collective defence pact.
