U.S.-Russia negotiations on Ukraine may include recognizing Crimea as Russian territory, in what would be a major concession to Russia. Reports indicate that D.C. is also considering approaching the UN with a proposal to recognize Crimea as Russian territory at the international level.
The website notes that Trump has not yet made a final decision on the matter and is also considering other options that could be included in the terms of the peace agreement, writes Polish news outlet Do Rzeczy, citing information from sources of the Semafor news portal.
The White House declined to officially comment on the matter. However, earlier, Trump said he would speak to Russian leader Vladimir Putin by phone on Tuesday, March 18. Asked what concessions were being considered in the ceasefire talks, Trump told reporters: “We’re going to talk about territories. We’re going to talk about power plants. We’re already talking about that, about dividing up some assets.”
The U.S. president did not provide any details, but Reuters reported he was referring to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of exposing the plant to the risk of catastrophe through their actions,
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday that Putin would hold a telephone conversation with Trump tomorrow, but declined to comment on the American leader’s statements about the territories and power plants.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the United States and Russia are now closer to reaching an agreement on Ukraine than ever before.
Russia occupied Crimea in 2014. An illegal “referendum” was held in the presence of the military, and then it was announced that the peninsula had become part of the Russian Federation. According to Moscow, 97 percent of Crimeans and 95 percent of Sevastopol residents voted to join Russia.
Russian media has been repeating from the very beginning that the inhabitants of the peninsula voted for democratic unification with Russia in accordance with international law and the UN Charter. According to President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Crimea “is finally closed.”
Maintaining the annexed peninsula is one of the key conditions that Russia has set for Ukraine before peace negotiations can take place. The authorities in Kyiv, however, do not want to agree to this and consider Crimea to be temporarily occupied territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the summer of 2023 that “Crimea will be liberated, like all other parts of Ukraine, which, unfortunately, are currently under occupation.”
