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Trump tells Ukraine to give up on NATO, Crimea ahead of talks with Zelensky: reports

18.08.2025 14:30
US President Donald Trump told Ukraine to abandon hopes of regaining Crimea and joining NATO ahead of his talks on Monday with the country's leader Volodymyr Zelensky and European officials in Washington, multiple news outlets reported.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.Photo: EPA/UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE

During the meetings, he is expected to press Kyiv into accepting a peace deal with Russia.

After rolling out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Trump is leaning on Ukraine to agree to a settlement to end the three-and-a-half-year-old war, the Reuters news agency reported.

Trump will first meet with Zelensky and then hold talks with leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO, the White House announced.

European leaders are travelling to Washington to show solidarity with Ukraine and to push for strong security guarantees in any postwar settlement.

No Polish official is expected to attend, according to Polish media reports.

Trump’s team stressed on Sunday that both sides must make compromises. But Trump placed the burden on Zelensky to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Reuters reported.

It said Zelensky has already all but rejected the outline of Putin’s proposals from the Alaska summit, including a demand that Ukraine relinquish the remainder of its eastern Donetsk region, of which Kyiv still controls about a quarter.

Zelensky is also seeking an immediate ceasefire to allow deeper peace talks, according to Reuters.

(gs)

Source: Reuters, IAR, PAP, CNN