President Donald Trump has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to give up on the idea of Ukraine reclaiming Crimea or joining NATO.
“President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump said via Truth Social on Sunday night, stating there was “no getting back” Crimea and “no going into NATO by Ukraine.”
Trump, who is now focused on securing a peace deal rather than a cease-fire to end the Russia-Ukraine war (which was triggered when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022), shared the advice ahead of his planned meeting with Zelensky and key European leaders at the White House on Monday.
Ukraine’s pursuit for NATO membership has long been documented and is a point of contention for Russia. At the annual NATO Summit earlier in June, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said: “NATO has no business in Ukraine. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, neither Russia, my job is to keep it as it is.”
NATO has maintained its stance on the matter.
“Ukraine is not a NATO member. Ukraine is a NATO partner country, which means that it cooperates closely with NATO but it is not covered by the security guarantee in the Alliance’s founding treaty,” the organisation’s website reads, specifying that “NATO condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Crimea has been under Russian occupation since 2014, when Moscow-backed forces took control of the territory. Russia initially denied direct involvement in the occupation.
Read More: Why Putin Must Be Thrilled With the Result of the Alaska Summit
Trump’s comments on Sunday night come after he travelled to Alaska on Friday to engage in, what he referred to as, a “high-stakes” summit with Putin.
The summit, which saw the first in-person encounter between Trump and Putin since 2019, was intended to foster discussions about a path toward a potential cease-fire, but it ended earlier than expected and without any deal being reached. Trump and Putin spoke only briefly to reporters afterwards, and neither took any questions.
Despite the anti-climatic event, Trump referred to the meeting as “extremely productive” and has since lashed out at what he calls “fake news,” insisting he had a “great meeting” with Putin.
Mapping out his reasoning behind inviting Zelensky to a White House meeting, Trump said: “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere cease-fire agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
Trump late-night comments on Sunday and his public direction to Zelensky re: his vision for how the war can be ended, fall in line with previous remarks he has made.
In an interview with TIME in April, Trump suggested that Crimea (which he has repeatedly referred to as being “given” by Barack Obama, who was President at the time of Russian annexation of Crimea), would remain under Russian control when asked about a path to peace in Ukraine.
“Will they [Ukraine] be able to get it back? They’ve had their Russians. They’ve had their submarines there for long before any period that we’re talking about, for many years. The people speak largely Russian in Crimea,” said the U.S. President.
In that same interview, Trump also said that he didn’t see a future for Ukraine in NATO.
“I don’t think they’ll ever be able to join NATO. I think that’s been—from day one, I think that’s been, that’s I think what caused the war to start was when they started talking about joining NATO,” he maintained.
Elsewhere, Trump has also previously stated that a lasting cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine war could likely only come through the exchange of territories “for the betterment of both.” Zelensky and his European allies have staunchly denounced this idea, with Zelensky stating that Ukraine will not “gift their land to the occupier.”
Zelensky, who famously clashed with Trump during a disastrous Oval Office meeting in February, will this time be bolstered by the presence and support of key European leaders as he returns to the White House on Monday.
Read More: The Secret White House Backchannel That Paved the Way For Trump’s Summit With Putin
Among those set to attend are U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Also set to be present in Washington, D.C., for the peace talks are NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
Furthermore, Zelensky’s European allies are firm in their notion that “pressure” upon Russia can be increased moving forward.
“We do stand ready to increase pressure on Russia, particularly the economy, with sanctions and wider measures as may be necessary,” U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said last week. “It’s important we all continue to work alongside Presidents Trump and Zelensky for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
The post Trump Tells Zelensky to Forgo Regaining Crimea and Joining NATO Ahead of White House Meeting appeared first on TIME.
