Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula “will stay with Russia” as a part of any settlement to finish the Kremlin’s warfare on its jap European neighbor, US President Donald Trump stated in remarks revealed Friday.
“Crimea will stay with Russia. And Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time. It’s been with them long before Trump came along,” Trump stated throughout an interview with Time Magazine.
The sturdy backing of Russia’s place got here simply days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Kyiv would by no means acknowledge Moscow’s occupation of Crimea, remarks that prompted Trump to lash out on the Ukrainian chief.
Trump accused Zelenskyy on Wednesday of prolonging the “killing field” in Ukraine due to his refusal, however claimed then that “nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory.”
Crimea is a strategic peninsula internationally acknowledged as Ukrainian territory.
Russia occupied it in 2014 when former President Barack Obama was in workplace, eight years earlier than the Kremlin launched its large-scale offensive into Ukraine.
Successive US administrations, together with Trump’s first, refused to acknowledge Russian sovereignty over the territory.
“Crimea went to the Russians. It was handed to them by Barack Hussein Obama, and not by me. With that being said, will they 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,” Trump stated.
“This wasn’t given by Trump. Would it have been taken from me like it was taken from Obama? No, it wouldn’t have happened. Crimea, if I were president, it would not have been taken,” he added.
Time stated in its story that Trump’s peace plan would see Ukraine give up roughly 20% of its territory to Russia, although it’s unclear if that’s primarily based on the president’s remarks, or one other supply.
Source: www.anews.com.tr