If either side makes the negotiations very difficult, we will say: "You are fools, you are terrible people and we will withdraw", said Donald Trump. Meanwhile, "Bloomberg" reported that the US is ready to recognize Crimea as Russian.
US President Donald Trump is pushing for a quick end to the fighting in Ukraine. When asked at the White House, he said that he wanted this to happen "very soon". However, there was no more specifics - only that an agreement should be reached as soon as possible.
In the same regard, Trump threatened that the US could withdraw from talks to end the war. "If one of the parties makes it too difficult, we will simply say: 'You are fools, you are terrible people and we will withdraw,'" German public broadcaster ARD quoted him as saying. Trump, however, clarified that he hoped it would not come to that.
His personal assessment is that there is a "really good chance" of reaching a peace deal. When asked if Russia was trying to fool the US, he replied: "Nobody is fooling me. I am trying to help."
Is the US ready to recognize Crimea as Russian?
Trump refused to answer the question of whether he would end military support for Ukraine. He still believed in reaching a solution through negotiations and wanted to see Russia and Ukraine seeking it "enthusiastically."
Meanwhile, "Bloomberg" reported, citing White House sources, that the Trump administration is ready to recognize Crimea as Russian territory as part of a broader peace agreement to end the war.
Russia occupied the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014 and then annexed it in violation of international law. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that he will not cede Crimea or any other territory to Russia as part of a ceasefire or peace agreement.
In one voice with Rubio
With his threat to leave the negotiations if they go on too long, Trump backed his secretary of state. At the end of the Ukraine talks in Paris, Marco Rubio warned that the United States could end its peace efforts and recalled how much time and energy the American president had spent mediating between Russia and Ukraine. "Trump is still interested in a deal, but he has many other priorities in the world, and if a deal is not possible, he can say, "We're done," Rubio said.
Now Trump is saying the same thing: if there is no progress in the next few days in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which has been invaded, the United States may withdraw from peace efforts.
J.D. Vance is also optimistic
Meanwhile, US Vice President J.D. Vance, who is currently on a state visit to Rome, expressed optimism. In a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, he expressed confidence that the war can be ended. "As negotiations are ongoing, I don't want to prejudge them, but we are optimistic that we can hopefully end this war, this very brutal war," Vance said.
The United States has dramatically changed course on its policy towards Ukraine since Trump became president again. Under the Joe Biden administration, the United States was the most important supporter of the attacked country. Republican Trump has repeatedly suggested that he is able to quickly end this war, which has been going on for more than three years. For example, during the election campaign, he claimed that he could end the conflict within 24 hours, ARD recalls. But even after three months in office, he has not been able to do so, the German publication notes.
Ukraine is under intense pressure
It is actually unclear what it would mean for support for Ukraine if the US were to conclude that it is not worth continuing peace efforts. It is by no means certain that the US would then support Kiev - rather, Trump could continue to follow his course of rapprochement with Russia. In this regard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed in Paris that the US would not continue its support for Ukraine indefinitely.
If the US were to use the failure of the negotiations as an excuse to withdraw completely from peace efforts, this would be particularly fatal for Ukraine. Putin is deliberately delaying the negotiations because he believes he has an advantage on the battlefield. And without US support for Ukraine, the Russian leader can hope for even greater territorial gains, ARD emphasizes.