Trump claims media would chase him for 20 years if he surrendered Crimea
Donald Trump, President of the US (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump stated that if Crimea had been occupied during his presidency, it would have made headlines for 20 years, reports Clash Report.
“If I gave up that land, I would be on the front page of every paper for the next 20 years,” US President Donald Trump said.
He also noted that the media barely mentions that Crimea was occupied during Barack Obama’s presidency.
In addition, Trump said that Crimea is roughly the size of Texas.
Trump said that it was beautiful and that this huge piece of land stretched out into the ocean, right into the Black Sea, and was very beautiful. He added that he really thought it was nice.
However, Crimea covers about 27,000 square kilometers, while Texas spans over 695,000 square kilometers. This means the US state is nearly 26 times larger than the Ukrainian peninsula and, in terms of total area, even bigger than the entire country of Ukraine.
Occupation of Crimea
Russia’s occupation of Crimea began in February 2014, when Russian troops without insignia seized key administrative buildings and military facilities on the peninsula. Moscow then established control over local authorities and organized a so-called referendum, which is not recognized by the international community. On March 18, 2014, Russia declared the annexation of Crimea, a blatant violation of international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty.
The international response was largely negative: the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution affirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity and recognizing Crimea as an integral part of the country. Then-US President Barack Obama was among the first to condemn Moscow’s actions, emphasizing that the so-called referendum held under Russian military control had no legitimacy.
At his initiative, Washington, together with the European Union, imposed the first sanctions on Russia, targeting Russian officials, oligarchs, and key economic sectors. Obama stressed that Crimea is Ukraine and that the forceful seizure of territory poses a dangerous challenge to the international order.
Territorial issues
During his visit to the US, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed possible scenarios for a peaceful resolution of the war with Trump. The Ukrainian leader did not rule out that territorial exchanges could appear on the agenda.
At the same time, he emphasized that implementing such agreements would be extremely difficult.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expects an agreement to end the war in Ukraine to be reached at a trilateral meeting of the presidents of the US, Ukraine, and Russia. According to Rubio, any peace deal will require concessions from all parties, and no one will receive one hundred percent satisfaction.
