Trump: Zelensky is ready to give up Crimea

Vladimir Zelensky is ready to give up his claims to the Crimea, the American leader Donald Trump believes.

"I think so," he said, answering the relevant question.

In an interview with Time published on April 25, Trump said that Crimea "will remain part of Russia" as part of the peace agreement. Earlier, several American media outlets wrote that the United States could recognize the peninsula as part of Russia during the settlement.

Crimea became part of Russia following the results of the 2014 referendum. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the issue of territorial affiliation of the republic closed. One of Moscow's demands is international recognition of the peninsula as part of Russia.

Zelensky said that Ukraine would not recognize Crimea as Russian territory. The American leader noted that no one asks Kiev to recognize Crimea as Russian.

The Ukrainian leader, however, acknowledged that Trump was right that it would be difficult for Kiev to return the region under its control. Zelensky attributed this to the lack of "weapons, not people." The US president wondered why Ukraine did not fight for the region for 11 years, when Russia gained control of it "without a single shot."

Zelensky in this correspondence dispute with Trump recalled the position of his administration in the first term. Then the head of the State Department, Mark Pompeo, said that the United States "rejects Russia's attempt to annex Crimea and undertakes to adhere to this policy until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an interview with CBS on April 27, answering a question mentioning Crimea, said that "Russia is not negotiating the integrity of its territory" and "Trump understands this."

As Reuters reported, citing sources, the issue of recognition of Crimea by Washington turned out to be one of the stumbling blocks between the United States and Europe. The latter considered such a step unacceptable.

In addition to recognizing Crimea, Moscow insists that Sevastopol, the DPR, the LPR, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions be recognized internationally as part of it.