At the height of the discussion about a possible end to US mediation in the Ukrainian war, a proposal comes from the American side: the US may be willing to recognize the Crimean peninsula as Russian state territory, reports Bloomberg agency, referring to well-informed circles.
Russia invaded the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula in 2014 and then annexed it through a Moscow-led referendum in violation of international law. Since then, Russia has deployed its Black Sea Fleet to Crimea.
His signal to definitely reach a ceasefire
According to Bloomberg, such a concession by US President Donald Trump is related to his signal to definitely achieve a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. So far, the leadership in Moscow has been closed to these efforts, while Kiev has expressed readiness for peace talks. The negotiating partners have nevertheless drawn attention to the fact that no final decision has yet been made regarding the opinions on Crimea, Bloomberg further reports.
Ukraine has not yet commented on this. The leadership in Kiev has so far categorically refused to give up the territories occupied by Russia. This applies to both Crimea and the areas in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow has integrated into the Russian state territory in defiance of international law. The West – including Washington – has so far categorically opposed the recognition of the occupied territories.
The new US administration must reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible, otherwise it will stop its efforts. I want to see a deal “very soon”, Trump said at the White House. He did not specify how much time he has in mind for this.
The US president also stressed that if there is a lack of willingness to compromise on both sides, he will no longer have any interest in continuing his mediation efforts: “If for any reason one of the parties makes it difficult, we will simply say: You are stubborn, you are terrible people, and we will give up. But I hope we don’t have to do that.” (DW)