Crimea Will Remain with Russia as Part of Any Peace Deal – President Donald Trump

Crimea Will Remain with Russia as Part of Any Peace Deal – President Donald Trump

Washington, April 25: Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula “will remain with Russia” as part of any agreement to end the Kremlin’s war against its Eastern European neighbor — U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Time Magazine published on Friday.

Trump said, “Crimea will stay with Russia. And Zelensky understands that, everyone understands — it has been with them for a long time. It was theirs long before Trump came along.”

This strong support for Russia’s stance comes at a time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated that Kyiv would never recognize Russia’s occupation of Crimea. In response, Trump harshly criticized Zelenskyy, saying, “It is because of Zelenskyy’s refusal that the killing field in Ukraine continues.”

However, Trump also claimed, “Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian territory.”

It is worth noting that Crimea is a strategic peninsula internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. Russia annexed the region in 2014 during former President Barack Obama’s administration — eight years before the Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump stated, “Crimea went to the Russians. It was handed over by Barack Hussein Obama, not by me. Now the question is — can they get it back? The Russians have been there for many years, and their submarines have been there long before the time we’re talking about.”

He further added, “This wasn’t done by Trump. Had I been president, it wouldn’t have happened the way it did under Obama. If I were in office, Crimea would never have gone to Russia.”

Time Magazine reported that under Trump’s peace plan, Ukraine may have to give up around 20% of its territory to Russia — although it’s unclear whether that information came directly from Trump’s statements or another source.

While preparing to leave the White House for Rome, Trump told reporters that the peace talks were “coming along well, we hope,” but described them as “very fragile.”

He said, “It would be a great honor. If I can do it, I think we’re pretty close. There’s no fixed timeline, but I want it to end as soon as possible.”