US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that the negotiations in London on the Ukrainian issue "went well".
"They went well. We need two people, two strong, smart people, to reach an agreement", Trump said, noting that once that happens, the conflict will be resolved.
It is more difficult for the US to reach an agreement to resolve the conflict with Ukraine than with Russia, with which agreements have almost been reached, Trump continued.
„I think Russia is ready. I think we have a deal with Russia. We have to negotiate with Zelensky. I thought it would be easier with Zelensky. Now it's a little more difficult, but that's good. I think we'll reach an agreement with both of them. I hope they'll succeed, too," the head of state said.
Earlier, the British government announced that talks on a peaceful settlement of Ukraine at the level of foreign ministers, which were to be held in London on Wednesday, had been postponed. The meeting was held at a lower level. The United States was represented by Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg. According to The Daily Telegraph in London, the United States was supposed to present a seven-point peace plan, including Washington's recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea. Volodymyr Zelensky rejected this option the day before, after which, as The New York Times reported, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided not to travel to the UK. In connection with this, the foreign ministers of Great Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine also refused to participate in the meeting in London.
According to the British newspaper Financial Times, commenting on the results of the meeting in London, Kiev's European allies are trying to convince the Ukrainian leadership of the need for territorial concessions.
Citing a source familiar with the course of the negotiations on Ukraine in London, the publication writes that the leading representatives of the European West are trying to find a compromise in which Kiev "will not be forced to violate all its red lines", but will end up having to give up a number of territories at the final stage of the negotiations. The publication does not specify which territories are in question.
At the same time, as the newspaper notes, European countries are still strongly opposed to recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, arguing their position by the fact that this would undermine the foundations of the established world order.
Great Britain, Germany and France are concerned about the US withdrawal from the negotiations for a peaceful settlement of Ukraine, the publication specifies.
Trump wrote earlier on Wednesday on his Truth Social page that Zelensky's statements that Ukraine does not recognize Crimea as Russian are “harmful to the negotiations, since Crimea was lost many years ago“ at the initiative of US President Barack Obama and “is not even a subject of discussion“.
Meanwhile, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, stated in an interview with the French magazine Le Point that “Europe wants war, not negotiations“ for the settlement of Ukraine. There was a feeling that "all of Europe is working for the Biden administration," adding fuel to the fire of the conflict in Ukraine, Peskov said.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is seeking to reach a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine within the first 100 days of his term in office, CNN reported, citing a European official.
“There are many details at the moment, but one thing is clear: the US is insisting on concluding a deal within the first hundred days of the new government,” the TV channel quoted him as saying.
The official also said that under the proposed deal, Crimea would remain under Russian control and it was hard to imagine any other outcome. "But it's obviously difficult for Zelensky," he added.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters that Zelensky was not moving toward peace in Ukraine, but in the opposite direction. She added that Trump found Zelensky's attempts to use "megaphone diplomacy" unacceptable. and “to conduct peace talks through the media“.
Trump's position is that “Europe must do more” to achieve a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
“The president has always insisted that Europe must do more in terms of efforts to end this war in Russia and Ukraine, as well as in terms of its spending on NATO“, said the spokeswoman for the head of the administration in Washington.
“He made that clear to them, both in person and publicly, when many European leaders visited the White House“, Leavitt said.