President Donald Trump has claimed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy is prepared to give up Crimea as part of the ceasefire deal to end his country's three-year-long war with Russia.
When asked if he thought Zelenskyy was ready to cede the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, Trump replied, “I think so.”
If Zelenskyy were to agree, it would mark a major shift in Ukraine's stance on giving up land for peace.
In what looks to be a potentially pivotal week for efforts to bring at least a pause to fighting in Ukraine, upbeat comments from the Trump administration and Zelenskyy over the weekend were added to by Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Monday, who said that the Kremlin was ready to begin peace negotiations with Washington and Kyiv.
Trump met with Zelenskyy at the Vatican City on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday.
Speaking to journalists, Sunday as he boarded Air Force One in New Jersey, the president said he believes a ceasefire deal could be on the horizon as he urged Putin to “stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal.”
