On the 17th, U.S. President Trump addressed Ukrainian President Zelensky, stating that if Zelensky is willing, the Russia-Ukraine conflict can be “ended almost immediately.”
Trump wrote on social media: “If Ukrainian President Zelensky is willing, he can end the war with Russia almost immediately. He (Zelensky) can also choose to keep fighting.”
Trump claimed that Ukraine “will not get back” Crimea, nor will it be able to join NATO. “Some things will never change!!!”
Trump is scheduled to meet with Zelensky and European leaders in Washington, D.C. on the 18th local time.
Crimea is a peninsula in the south of Ukraine, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, with great strategic significance. In 2014, during Obama’s administration, Russian forces annexed Crimea, and in March of the same year a controversial referendum was held in which Crimea was declared to have “joined the Russian Federation.”
However, the result of the referendum is generally not recognized by the international community, and the United Nations General Assembly also passed a resolution confirming that Crimea belongs to Ukraine.