US President Donald Trump is convinced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can stop the war “immediately”. This by accepting conditions that would mean Kiev gives up NATO ambitions and territories.
According to Donald Trump, Zelensky can end the war with Russia very quickly – but only if he is willing to make significant concessions. The American president wrote this on his Truth Social platform ahead of a planned meeting with the Ukrainian leader scheduled for Monday.
“Zelenskyy can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight”, Trump wrote on Sunday on Truth Social, and continued:
“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!!!”
The American president was referring to the events of 2014, when the then-US President Barack Obama’s administration did not intervene after Crimea voted to reunite with Russia following a Western-backed coup in Kyiv.
Cautious optimism
According to reports, the peace proposal to be discussed at Monday’s meeting could mean that Ukraine gives up its remaining positions in the Donbass region. The proposal would also mean that current battle lines are frozen in exchange for a ceasefire.
Such conditions have been categorically rejected by Zelensky in the past. The Ukrainian president has consistently maintained that Crimea and other regions must return to Ukrainian control, and he has rejected all compromises on territorial concessions.
Monday’s meeting comes shortly after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where both leaders expressed cautious optimism about the possibilities of finding a solution to the conflict.
Additional Russian demands
Moscow has repeatedly clarified its conditions for peace: Ukraine must abandon its NATO ambitions, undergo demilitarization and “denazification,” and recognize Russian control over Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – regions that have voted to join Russia.
Putin has also emphasized that a peace agreement must serve Russia’s security interests and create a fair balance of power in Europe for lasting peace to be achieved and maintained.
As an alternative to NATO membership, Washington and its European allies are considering offering Ukraine security guarantees outside NATO’s framework. This was stated by US special envoy Steve Witkoff to Fox News yesterday.
Whether Zelensky will accept Trump’s conditions for peace, or whether he chooses to continue the fight, remains to be seen after Monday’s meeting at the White House.
