Trump and Zelensky clash again as US warns ditching Ukraine talks

Washington/London/Paris — US President Donald Trump chided President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday for refusing to recognise Russia’s occupation of Crimea as the two leaders again over efforts to end the three-year-old war in Ukraine.

JD Vance, Trump’s deputy, said it was time for Russia and Ukraine to either agree to a US peace proposal “or for the US to walk away from the process”, echoing a warning by Trump last week.

Vance said during a visit to India that the proposal called for freezing territorial lines “at some level close to where they are today” and a “long-term diplomatic settlement that hopefully will lead to long-term peace”.

“The only way to really stop the killing is for the armies to both put down their weapons, to freeze this thing,” he said.

A former Western official familiar with the US proposal said it also called for the recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, said in a post on X on Wednesday that he had stressed to the US in London that Ukraine “will stand firm on its core principles during the negotiations” that relate to sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Zelensky on Tuesday reiterated that Ukraine will not recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea. “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution,” he said.

Trump, who argued with Zelensky in a televised Oval Office meeting in March, called that an inflammatory statement that made a peace deal harder to achieve.

The US president said Crimea was lost years ago “and is not even a point of discussion”.

“Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognise Crimea as Russian territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it 11 years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Russian fighters seized control of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 in a move that was condemned internationally. Few countries recognise Russia’s claim to Crimea.

Trump scolded the Ukrainian leader and said the US was trying to stop the killing in his country and that they were “very close to a deal”.

Since taking office in January, Trump has sharply altered the US’s approach, pressing Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire while easing many measures the Biden administration took to punish Russia for its 2022 full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

Kyiv was still committed to working with the US to achieve peace, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said after Wednesday’s talks.

Questionable progress

Earlier, officials from the US, Ukraine and Europe met in London for peace talks but US secretary of state Marco Rubio cancelled his trip, raising questions about how much progress was being made.

Rubio’s absence prompted the cancellation of a broader meeting with foreign ministers from Ukraine, the UK, France and Germany, underscoring the gaps between Washington, Kyiv and its European allies on bringing an end to the war.

Trump has warned Washington could walk away if there was no progress on a deal soon. He raised the pressure on Sunday when he said he hoped Moscow and Kyiv would make a deal this week.

At the heart of Wednesday’s talks was an attempt to establish what Kyiv could possibly accept after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff presented proposals to a similar session in Paris last week. Three diplomats said those proposals appeared to demand more concessions from Ukraine than Russia.

A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer played down any disappointment over Rubio’s abrupt cancellation and said the talks involved “substantive technical meetings with European, US and Ukrainian officials on how to stop the fighting”.

“We remain absolutely committed to securing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and these talks today are an important part of that,” the spokesperson said.

One official close to the negotiations said progress was being made.

Since Trump expressed his desire to broker peace in Ukraine and made a surprise call to Russian President Vladimir Putin in February, European nations have scrambled to find ways to support Kyiv against Moscow while keeping the US onside.

But Witkoff's proposals, which several sources have said included recognising Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Washington beginning to lift sanctions on Russia and ruling out Ukrainian membership of Nato, were unacceptable to Kyiv and other European nations.

Sources said the US proposals include Ukraine and the Europeans accepting Russia’s control of the 20% of Ukraine’s territory that it has gained in the war.

Russia is pushing for the lifting of EU sanctions against it before negotiations are finished, which Europe staunchly opposes, diplomats said.

A source close to the discussions said the downgrading of the talks came after Ukraine drafted a paper for the Europeans on Tuesday in which it said there would be no discussions on territorial issues until “a full and unconditional ceasefire”.

Update: April 23 2025
This story has been updated with new information.

Reuters