Two of Trump's Ukraine deal proposals completely unacceptable to EU – FT
Photo: The EU is against Ukraine's rejection of NATO membership (Getty Images)
President Donald Trump's administration has presented Kyiv with a plan for a deal with highly favorable terms to Moscow. However, the US recognition of Russia's sovereignty over Crimea and Ukraine's refusal to join NATO are unacceptable to the EU, Financial Times reports.
According to the agency, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has refused to recognize Russia's sovereignty over any territory it has seized since 2014.
Trump criticized Zelensky's position, calling it very harmful to his peace efforts and inflammatory. "He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country," the US president wrote on Truth Social.
The biggest concession
Washington's proposal to approve Moscow's control over Crimea, in violation of agreed NATO policy, may be the biggest concession it has made to Moscow in recent months in its rush to conclude a deal, the Financial Times writes.
The Trump administration has also ruled out Ukraine's membership in NATO, a longstanding Russian demand.
While Moscow has been lavished with incentives, Kyiv has been pressured and threatened. It has been offered little in return for giving up its territory, the Financial Times notes.
Europe's position
Western officials told the FT that European capitals would not approve of any US move to recognize Crimea as Russian or pressure Kyiv to accept it, and they have long maintained their position that they will not accept anything on Ukraine's sovereignty.
"Crimea is Ukraine," said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
For Europeans, the idea of recognizing the annexation of Crimea - the first land grab by military force in Europe since 1945 - is unacceptable, as it would undermine the rules-based order that has kept the continent at peace for generations.
A second senior EU diplomat said that Crimea and Ukraine’s future aspirations for NATO membership were red lines for the EU, adding that Ukrainians could not be abandoned.
Even if the US acts unilaterally, it would reward Russian aggression and encourage Moscow to pursue its claims in Georgia and Moldova and threaten other former Soviet countries, such as the Baltic states, which are both NATO and EU members.
The Trump administration has already been told that European capitals will not be able to recognize Crimea as Russian, a senior European official said. The largest European NATO powers need to dissuade Washington from taking unilateral action, the official said.
Discussion in NATO
The status of Crimea could create a major diplomatic crisis for NATO, whose stated position is to never recognize Russia's control of the peninsula.
Before the US proposal, NATO officials had sought to downplay internal divisions over Ukraine, insisting that the annual summit of alliance leaders in The Hague would focus on defense spending, not war, according to officials involved in the discussions.
But the proposed deal and the possibility that the United States could abandon the talks, blame Kyiv, and normalize relations with Moscow could lead to disagreements among NATO leaders, the Financial Times writes.
US President Donald Trump evaded the question of whether Washington proposes to recognize Crimea as Russian for a peace deal.
