BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has suggested ahead of peace talks in Washington that Ukraine must give up the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia, and should not join NATO as part of a peace deal.
'President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,' Trump said in a message posted on Truth Social Monday.
'Remember how it started. 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!!!,' he added.
In an interview with Fox Business Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also gave an indication to this effect, without naming specific conditions.
'You can't have a peace deal between two warring factions unless both sides agree to give up something and both sides agree that the other side gets something, right? Otherwise, if one side gets everything they want, that's not a peace deal. It's called surrender. And I don't think this is a war that's going to end anytime soon on the basis of surrender'.
Rubio had accompanied President Trump on the trip to Alaska last Friday for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he will be there today for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and key European leaders at the White House Monday.
Zelensky has landed in Washington for talks with Trump on the prospects of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
The bilateral meeting is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET.
It will be followed by a meeting between Trump, the heads of the European Union and NATO, and European leaders at 3 p.m. ET, according to the White House.
Zelensky will be flanked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb as a show of support at the White House for Ukraine's causes, reports say.
During a virtual summit with Trump last week, European leaders had told him that international borders must not be changed by force and Ukraine must have robust and credible security guarantees to defend its territorial integrity as part of any deal.
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