Trump
rules out Ukraine reclaiming Crimea or joining Nato as European leaders gather
in Washington
US
president’s comments may prove a setback for Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he flies to
US for crucial Oval Office meeting in wake of Alaska summit
Staff and
agencies
Mon 18
Aug 2025 03.50 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/18/trump-ukraine-crimea-nato-zelesnkyy-washington-meeting
Donald
Trump has put pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of Monday’s talks in
Washington with European leaders, saying the Ukrainian president could end the
war “almost immediately” if he wanted to. The US president also ruled out
allowing Ukraine to join Nato or retake Russian-occupied Crimea as part of
negotiations with Moscow.
Trump
posted the remarks on his Truth Social platform on Sunday night, hours before
he was due to meet European leaders including Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron,
Friedrich Merz, and Zelenskyy at the Oval Office in a bid to counter a
reportedly US-backed plan that would see Ukraine give up territory.
“President
Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he
wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump posted. “No getting back Obama
given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and no going into
Nato by Ukraine. Some things never change!!!” he added.
A minute
later, the US president posted that it would be a “great honour” to host so
many European leaders at one time at the White House.
The
remarks may spark alarm among European diplomats keen to avoid a repeat of the
public mauling of Zelenskyy during his last trip to the White House, in
February, when Trump and the US vice-president, JD Vance, accused him of
ingratitude and disrespect and told him: “You’re not in a good position. You
don’t have the cards right now.”
Arriving
in Washington for the meeting late on Sunday, Zelenskyy said he hoped Ukraine’s
“shared strength” with the US and European counterparts would compel Russia to
peace.
“I am
grateful to the president of the United States for the invitation. We all
equally want to end this war swiftly and reliably,” Zelenskyy said on the
Telegram messaging app.
“And I
hope that our shared strength with America and with our European friends will
compel Russia to real peace.”
Even
before Trump’s remarks on Sunday, Zelenskyy faces a daunting task of reversing
the damage done to Ukraine’s security prospects by Friday’s Trump-Putin summit
in Alaska.
Earlier,
Trump accused the media of misrepresenting his “great meeting in Alaska” – an
encounter widely seen as a victory for Putin and a humiliation for the US
president. On Sunday, Trump claimed he had made “big progress” on Russia,
without giving details.
European
leaders on Monday will reaffirm their support for Ukraine’s territorial
integrity and argue against any land swap plan that rewards Russian aggression.
They will also seek further clarity on what security guarantees the US is
willing to offer in the event of a settlement.
Mikhail
Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to international organisations in Vienna, said early on
Monday that Russia agrees that any future Ukraine peace agreement must provide
security guarantees to Kyiv, but added that Russia “has equal right to expect
that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees”.
In a
conciliatory statement announcing his visit to Washington, Starmer praised
Trump for his “efforts to end Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine”. At the same
time, Starmer reasserted Europe’s red lines. He said the “path to peace” could
not be decided without Zelenskyy and said Russia should be “squeezed” with
further sanctions.
Trump’s
special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that Putin had agreed for the first time
for the US and Europe to provide protection to Ukraine as part of a deal. This
would be outside the auspices of Nato but would be the equivalent of the
alliance’s article 5 self-defence pact, Witkoff indicated.
With
Agence France-Presse
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