US President Donald Trump declined to recognize Ukraine as an equal participant in peace negotiations.
Trump’s claims at the Oval Office press conference follow his phone conversations with Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on 12 February.
Trump announced immediate negotiations would begin after his call with Putin. The Kremlin stated Putin agreed that “a long-term settlement could be achieved through peaceful negotiations.”
In a revealing interview conducted just hours before Trump’s conversation with Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President expressed deep concern about potential negotiations that could exclude Ukraine from the peace process.
When journalists at the Oval Office asked Trump if he considers Ukraine an equal participant in the peace process, Trump called it “an interesting question.”
“I think they need to make peace. Their people are being killed and I think they need to make peace. I said it was a bad war that they shouldn’t have gotten into. And I think they need to make peace. That’s what I think,” Trump said.
Responding to whether he supports President Zelenskyy giving up or exchanging territory to end the war, Trump said: “He’s going to have to do what he has to do, but his ratings are not exactly high, to put it mildly.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier that Ukraine may offer to exchange territory in the Kursk Oblast of Russia for Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine, though he did not specify which occupied territories Ukraine would want in return.
Trump expressed doubt about Ukraine returning to its pre-2014 borders, suggesting the country would need to cede territory to Russia to end the war.
US President also announced that he plans multiple personal meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, likely starting in Saudi Arabia.
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