US President Donald Trump has suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may be prepared to cede Crimea to Russia as part of ongoing efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, a claim that has yet to elicit a public response from either Kyiv or Moscow.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Trump said his recent meeting with Mr Zelensky had “gone well” and that the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, was discussed “very briefly.”
He added that Mr Zelensky appeared “calmer” compared to their public clash at the White House earlier this year.
However, Ukraine has repeatedly rejected any proposals involving territorial concessions, maintaining that issues concerning sovereignty must only be addressed after a ceasefire is established.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius also cautioned Kyiv against agreeing to what he termed a “capitulation.”
Speaking to ARD television on Sunday, Mr Pistorius said Ukraine "should not go as far as the latest proposal by the American president," warning that it could cost Ukraine significant parts of its territory without gaining any tangible advantage.
Earlier reports suggested that the American plan would legally recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its control over other occupied regions, including all of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
The BBC said it had not seen the final draft of the proposals but cited Reuters as having reviewed both US suggestions and counterproposals from Europe and Ukraine.
According to Reuters, the European counterproposals condition discussions about Ukraine’s occupied territories on the establishment of a ceasefire. Furthermore, the European side reportedly demands "robust" security guarantees resembling NATO’s Article 5 obligations, whereas the US plan envisions a “coalition of the willing,” led by the United Kingdom and France, to offer Kyiv security assurances without direct American involvement.
In addition, the US proposal is said to include taking control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently under Russian occupation, to supply electricity to both nations — an aspect notably absent from European and Ukrainian plans.
In an interview with Time magazine last week, Mr Trump blamed Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO for provoking the war and asserted that “Crimea will stay with Russia.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged both sides to expedite peace talks. "It needs to happen soon," Mr Rubio told NBC on Sunday. "We cannot continue to dedicate time and resources to this effort if it's not going to come to fruition." He also warned that Washington could pull out of the negotiations if no tangible progress is made.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently controls nearly 20 per cent of Ukraine's internationally recognised territory.
Neither President Zelensky nor Russian President Vladimir Putin have commented publicly on Mr Trump's latest assertions.
