President Trump was angry after Zelensky confirmed that he did not recognize Russia to control the Crimea, saying that the comment of the Ukrainian counterpart “harmed” the peace process.
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on the first page of the Wall Street Journal: ‘Ukraine will not recognize the legality of Crimea’s occupation. This problem has nothing to debate’. Comments “, Mr. Trump posted on social network Truth Social on April 23.
“No one asked Mr. Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian territory, but if he wanted Crimea, why did they not fight because it was 11 years ago, when it was given to Russia without any gun?
Russia announced the merger of the Crimea peninsula after the 2014 referendum, despite opposition from Ukraine. The United States and 99 countries have voted to support a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly that announced that Russia’s merger action was illegal.Washington PostOn April 22, quoting the source said that in an attempt to end the war, the United States is proposing that the country will recognize Russia’s merger to the Crimea peninsula. The United States also wants Russia and Ukraine to freeze today.
In the post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump accused the Ukrainian leader “an exciting comment, no effect other than prolonged killing”. “Mr. Zelensky has no cards at all. Or can achieve peace, or he will have to fight another three years before losing the whole country,” the White House head added.
US President Donald Trump responded to the reporter outside the White House on April 23. Image:AFP
Answering the reporter at the White House later, Mr. Trump continued to pressure Ukraine. “I think we have reached an agreement with Russia. We also have to reach an agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,” he said. “I think it will be easier to reach an agreement with Ukrainian leaders, but so far, the situation shows the opposite.”
President Zelenks on the same day responded with the post on social network X, affirming that Ukraine “will always act according to the Constitution and we are completely sure that our partners, especially the United States, will act in accordance with their strong decisions”.
He posted a copy of the 2018 US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo with the content “The United States opposed Russia’s merging Crimea and committed to maintaining this policy until Ukraine restored territorial integrity”.
Location of Crimea peninsula. Graphic:Isw
Earlier, White House spokesman Karoline Leavitt told the reporter that President Trump was “disappointed”, “impatient” at the speed of negotiation and Mr. Zelensky “seemed to be in the wrong direction”.
“President Trump wants peace but both sides in the battle need to be ready to do it. And unfortunately, President Zelensky seems to be in the wrong direction. He tried to raise the issues of peace negotiations in the press and it was unacceptable,” Leavitt added.
Government officials also said that there was nothing to be sure of the agreement and the US could withdraw from peace if it was not quickly reached.
The Kremlin on April 23 said that the parties still have “many problems” during the negotiation process. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was continuing to negotiate with the United States about a feasible solution, but not dialogue with Europe or Ukraine on this issue. However, he emphasized that President Vladimir Putin still left the possibility of negotiating with all parties.
