Trump: Zelensky can end the war immediately by renouncing Crimea and NATO

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wishes, or he can continue to fight," Donald Trump wrote in Truth, just hours after meeting with the Kiev and European leaders. "Remember how it all began. You can't get back Crimea, which Obama gave you 12 years ago, without a shot being fired, and you can't have Ukraine join NATO," the American president said. "This is a momentous day at the White House: I've never had so many European leaders here at once, and it's a great honor for me to host them," Trump said.

Trump will have a bilateral meeting with Zelensky at 1:15 PM local time (7:15 PM Italian time) and will then greet the European leaders at 2:15 PM (8:15 PM Italian time). A group photo is scheduled for 15 minutes later, and the meeting will begin at 3:00 PM (9:00 PM Italian time). The European leaders, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, are scheduled to arrive at the White House at 12:00 PM local time (6:00 PM Italian time). The US administration announced this in a statement.

"The fake news has been going on for three days, claiming I suffered a 'serious defeat' by allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold a major summit in the United States. In reality, he wanted to hold the meeting anywhere but the US, and the fake news knows it," wrote US President Donald Trump on his social media account, Truth. "This was a major point of contention. If we had held the summit anywhere else, the Democrat-run and -controlled media would have said what a terrible thing it was. These people are sick," the tycoon attacked, accusing the US media and opposition of "even wanting crime in Washington."

Yesterday:

The disputed territories and ensuring that what happened in February three years ago with the Russian invasion of Ukraine never happens again. These are the key issues to be resolved at the White House summit between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, accompanied by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friederich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

An unprecedented high-level European delegation is expected to avoid the debacle of the Oval Office meeting last February and ensure a peaceful future not only for Ukraine but for all of Europe. However, according to Bild, two meetings could take place in Washington: a bilateral one between the US and Ukrainian presidents, followed by an extended meeting with European leaders. After his summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump has drastically reduced his public statements. "Great progress with Russia, stay tuned," he limited himself to writing on his social media account, Truth, during a weekend spent golfing in Virginia. Instead, his closest advisers, Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio, who attended the summit with the Tsar in Anchorage alongside him, spoke. The special envoy assured that the Kremlin leader has agreed to provide unprecedented, "solid" guarantees for the security of Ukraine and Europe, a move he believes could represent a turning point in the peace negotiations. In particular, Witkoff hinted at a type of protection for Kiev modeled on NATO's Article 5, which establishes that an armed attack against one member of the Atlantic Alliance is considered an attack on all others. "We've reached an agreement that the United States and other European nations could indeed offer a wording similar to Article 5," Trump's envoy said in an interview with CNN, explaining that this could be the only alternative to Ukraine's accession to NATO, which Putin continues to staunchly oppose.

Zelensky expressed satisfaction with this step forward in security guarantees and thanked the United States for helping achieve this goal. But for the Kiev leader, this isn't enough: "It's important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide guarantees to Ukraine. We are very grateful to the United States and the president for this signal, which is important for everyone in Europe. This is a significant change, but there are no details on how it will work and what America's role will be, what Europe's role will be, what the EU will be able to do," he asked. Regarding the territories targeted by Russia, Witkoff revealed that the tsar would be willing to make some concessions on "five Ukrainian regions," but did not provide further details. He was likely referring to Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea, but some believe he was referring to Sumy or Kharkiv rather than the peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. Zelensky, for his part, insisted that "Ukrainian Constitution makes it impossible to cede territory or exchange territories." "Since the territorial issue is so important," he added, "it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia within the framework of the trilateral summit." This position is also shared by French President Emmanuel Macron, who, however, has proposed expanding the trilateral summit to include Europe.

In the background, the failed ceasefire that Ukraine, Europe, and the commander-in-chief himself had expected until a few hours earlier to secure from the summit at the Alaskan military base. For Marco Rubio, "it's still on the table." But, he explained, "the primary goal is peace, not a truce." The US Secretary of State also warned that there's a possibility that "this war will continue, that people will continue to die." In that case, the United States—like Europe—is ready to impose new sanctions against Russia and its allies.