US President Donald Trump said that even Ukrainian President Zelensky understood that the Crimean peninsula would come under Moscow’s control, in a final settlement to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
US President Donald Trump – Photo: TIME
In an interview published by Time magazine on April 25, marking his first 100 days in office, US President Donald Trump declared that “Crimea has long belonged to Russia” and suggested that “everyone understands” that Ukraine will not be able to take back the peninsula.
Asked whether he could accept Crimea and four regions annexed from Ukraine by Russia as part of a final settlement on the Ukraine conflict, Trump replied:
“Crimea will stay with Russia. And [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky understands that, everyone understands that it has belonged to them (Russia) for a long time, since before Trump appeared,” the US president emphasized.
According to Mr. Trump, Russia has had submarines in Crimea for many years, “long before any of the periods being discussed” and the majority of people in Crimea speak Russian.
He also criticized former US President Barack Obama for saying that Obama had “handed” the Crimean peninsula to Russia, declaring the entire current conflict “Obama’s war” and something that “should never have happened”.
President Trump also emphasized his role, asserting that if he were not the US president, there would be “no chance” for peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Responding to the question of whether Ukraine should give up its ambition to join NATO, Mr. Trump said he did not think Kiev could join NATO.
“I think what caused this war in the first place was when they (Ukraine) started talking about joining NATO. If that had not been talked about, there would have been a better chance that this war would not have happened,” he said.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, following a referendum that Russia declared legal, but faced criticism from Ukraine and internationally.
By 2022, Russia will continue to annex four other regions from Ukraine: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
Earlier on April 23, President Trump criticized Mr. Zelensky for the Ukrainian president’s statement that the country would not recognize Russia’s control over Crimea. The US president said such statements were “very harmful to peace negotiations with Russia,” according to CNN.
The White House boss declared the situation in Ukraine “very bad” and warned Mr Zelensky “can have peace or can fight for three more years before losing the whole country”.
