Unwavering position: Zelenskyy responds whether giving up Crimea for sake of peace is possible
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)
Renouncing Crimea for the sake of peace with Russia is impossible. At the same time, Ukraine is ready to discuss humanitarian issues in the temporarily occupied territories, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this during a press conference in Ankara.
While speaking to the press, the head of the Ukrainian state once again emphasized that Ukraine does not intend to recognize as Russian the territories occupied by the Russian Federation.
"I support the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We do not recognize the temporarily occupied territories, we do not recognize the peninsula as Russian," Zelenskyy stated.
He explained that Ukraine cannot discuss territorial issues during peace negotiations, as doing so would violate the country’s Constitution.
"In all discussions, I want to stress, this is my unwavering position, legally, we do not recognize any of our temporarily occupied territories as Russian," the president underscored.
However, Zelenskyy added that the Ukrainian side is ready to discuss humanitarian crises and everything that is happening in the temporarily occupied territories.
Issue of Crimea in peace negotiations
US President Donald Trump previously stated that Crimea would supposedly remain with Russia as part of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. He even added that "everyone understands this," including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Following Trump’s statement on Crimea, the Kremlin quickly noted “overlaps” between Russia’s position and what they claimed was the US vision for resolving the war in Ukraine.
Bloomberg also reported that the US was allegedly considering recognizing Crimea as Russian in the context of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Western media published information about a potential peace plan proposed by Donald Trump, which would involve recognizing Crimea as part of Russia.
In response to these reports, President Zelenskyy once again categorically stated that Ukraine would not recognize any of its territories, including Crimea, as part of Russia.
Trump later expressed outrage at Zelenskyy’s position, claiming that such statements make a peaceful resolution more difficult.
Subsequently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that Ukraine was being asked to give up Crimea.
