President Donald Trump is content with Russia maintaining control over the Crimean Peninsula in a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.
“If Crimea will stay with Russia—we have to only talk about Crimea because that’s the one that always gets mentioned. Crimea will stay with Russia. And Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” Trump told Time magazine in an interview earlier this week.
“It’s been with them long before Trump came along. Again, this is Obama’s war. This is a war that should have never happened. I call it the war that should have never happened,” Trump added.
Trump spoke with Time for its cover story on the first 100 days of his presidency. The long form interview was one of the longest Trump has done since he became president again in January. Time named Trump its person of the year for 2024 after his stunning political comeback culminated in a decisive victory in the 2024 presidential election over former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Russian strongman Vladimir Putin seized Crimea in 2014 during former President Barack Obama’s second term. Putin’s swift annexation took place at a time of political unrest in Ukraine and his military action was widely condemned. Obama’s inaction at the time has been met with significant criticism because of his previous downplaying of Russia as a strategic threat.
The Trump administration is pursuing a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine to halt the fighting after more than three years. The Ukraine war began in 2022 when Putin invaded Ukraine in a revanchist quest to conquer his neighboring country.
Trump criticized Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week for rejecting a proposal that would allow Russia to keep Crimea and accused him of hurting the peace negotiations. He was responding to a Wall Street Journal story that covered a press conference Zelensky gave in Kyiv Tuesday where he dismissed the U.S. proposal to recognize Russian control of Crimea.
“This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”
In a similar fashion, Trump criticized Putin on Thursday for Russia’s strikes on Kyiv, as twelve people died and 90 were injured when Moscow sent dozens of missiles at Kyiv.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Zelensky suggested the latest Russian attacks were a pressure tactic on the U.S. as negotiations are ongoing. Zelensky cut short his visit to South Africa to return to Ukraine in the wake of the deadly Russian attacks.
Last week, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio floated abandoning the negotiations if both sides continue to remain far away from a comprehensive agreement. Both sides appear to be far away from coming to an agreement as the war rages on.