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U.S. President Donald Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to abandon claims to Crimea and NATO membership on Monday, stating these issues are no longer on the agenda as the Ukrainian leader arrived in Washington for crucial talks aimed at ending the war with Russia.
Trump made the statements on his Truth Social platform ahead of Monday's White House meetings, where he will host Zelenskyy and multiple European leaders for discussions on proposals to end the conflict.
"President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," Trump wrote.
"Remember how it started. No getting back (former President Barack) Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!" he added.
Trump expressed pride at hosting what he called an unprecedented number of European leaders simultaneously at the White House.
French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte are all set to attend the meetings.
"Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honor to host them!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social.
In another post, he said the "Fake News will say that it is a big loss for President Trump to host so many great European Leaders at our beautiful White House," emphasizing that it is "a great honor for America!!!"
The president also reposted a message stating that "Ukraine must be willing to lose some territory to Russia, otherwise the longer the war goes on, they will keep losing even more land!!"
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that both Russia and Ukraine need to "make concessions" for any peace agreement to succeed.
"You can't have a peace deal between two warring factions unless both sides agree to give up something ... Otherwise, if one side gets everything they want, that's not a peace deal. It's called surrender," Rubio said.
Rubio identified remaining issues from Friday's Alaska summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin as "where the territorial lines are going to be, questions about long-term security guarantees, and who Ukraine can have military alliances with."
However, he emphasized that territorial decisions ultimately belong to Ukraine. "It's their territory. It's their country," he said.
Upon arriving in Washington, Zelenskyy wrote on X that "we all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably," but stressed that peace must be lasting.
"And peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East—part of Donbas—and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack," Zelenskyy stated.
The Ukrainian president criticized the security guarantees offered to Ukraine in 1994, saying they failed. "Of course, Crimea should never have been surrendered at that time, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022," he said.
Zelenskyy emphasized that "Ukrainians are fighting for their land, for their independence. Now, our soldiers have successes in Donetsk and Sumy regions," expressing confidence that they will defend Ukraine and effectively guarantee security.
The Ukrainian leader expressed gratitude to Trump and American allies while outlining his expectations for the talks.
"Our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance," Zelenskyy said.
He concluded with hope that international cooperation could force Russia toward genuine negotiations: "Russia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace."
The Washington talks follow a three-hour closed-door meeting Friday between Trump and Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, with Putin saying they reached an "understanding."
Following that summit, Trump told Fox News that significant points were agreed upon, with only minor items remaining.
Trump defended hosting the summit in the United States against media criticism, saying he slammed media reports claiming he suffered a "major defeat" by allowing Putin to have a major summit in the U.S.
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