According to Trump, Russia does not want to conquer the whole Ukraine – DiePresse.com

In the struggle for an end to the Ukraine War, US President Donald Trump sees it as a concession of the Kremlin that Russia no longer wants to conquer its neighboring country completely. When asked what concessions Moscow are doing in the negotiations, Trump said: « To end the war and not take the whole country? A pretty big concession. »

The Russian military has been checking about a fifth of the neighboring country since the invasion of Ukraine – a share that has changed little despite the continuing fights in three years of war. So there is nothing to indicate that the Russian troops could currently fully take Ukraine.

Trump was confident that there could soon be a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. « We want to end this war, we want to end it quickly. And I think we have made great progress and we will see what will happen in the next few days because there will be very important meetings, » said the Republican on the sidelines of a meeting with the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

US president sees himself « a lot of pressure » on Russia

Trump emphasized that he exerted « a lot of pressure » on Russia. He assumes that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin wanted to enter into a deal. But two always belonged to the tango, according to Trump. He was convinced that Ukraine also has an agreement. Trump did not answer questions about details of a possible arrival.

Trump had previously been confident that the Russian ruler Vladimir Putin will listen to him and stop the attacks on Ukraine. Trump had previously asked Putin in a contribution on his Truth Social platform after the difficult attacks on Kiev to stop the attacks. In the White House, Trump was asked by a reporter if he believed that Putin will listen to him. « Yes, » said Trump.

The US President had critically commented on the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskij the previous day. « We have to reach an agreement with Selenskij, » he said in front of reporters. That is more difficult than he expected. A few hours earlier, his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt had said that Trump was frustrated in view of how slowly negotiations will be made. She also said Selenskij seems « to move in the wrong direction ».

After high-ranking US government agents had threatened to withdraw from their country from the mediation efforts, Trump did not let himself be stabilized on Thursday. In his view, he left it open to reporters. « I have my own deadline, » he said. In the election campaign, he promised to end the war on the first day of his term. Russia and Ukraine would have to sit down and negotiate at a table, said Trump. Both sides wanted to make peace, he added.

Moscow wants to have occupied regions completely

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskow, Russia is ready for an armistice and peace agreement with Ukraine if Kiev completely dispenses with the areas annexed by Moscow. « There are four regions contained in our constitution. The Ukrainian army has to lay down its weapons and withdraw. If it does this, the military operations will be hired immediately, » said Peskow in the interview of the French news magazine « Le Point ».

It is about the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Saporischschja and Cherson, which are partially occupied by Russia. The position of the Kremlin speaker contradicts reports on an offer of Russia to freeze the front line in the war of attack against Ukraine without Russia gaining complete control over the four regions.

The Russian leadership accused Selenskij that he was unable to unit. His inability to conclude an agreement to terminate the war becomes clearer from minute to minute, said the spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Maria Sacharova. Trump hugged the Ukrainian president because he refused to recognize the Russian claim to the Ukrainian peninsula. Russia had annexed Crimea in 2014, which is not recognized internationally. The leadership in Kiev has repeatedly stated that their goal is control of the entire Ukrainian territory – including the Crimea.

Treatment of Crimea

At a Ukraine meeting in London, diplomats spoke of several obstacles, including the status of the Crimea. Ukraine rejected the idea that the Russian annexation of the peninsula could be recognized. Selenskij published a link on Telegram on Wednesday evening on a statement by the US government from 2018, in which Trump spoke out against the annexation of the Black Sea Peninsula through Moscow during his first term as president.

Trump said a question about the Crimea on Wednesday and explained that he had « no favorites » in the Ukraine conflict and only wanted the war to stop. He also left open whether he will see the Ukrainian president at the Pope Fair celebrations in Rome on Saturday.

Schoigu: Russia is right to use nuclear weapons

In the meantime, Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression on the part of western countries, Sergei Schoigu, the secretary of the influential security council and former Defense Minister, according to the state news agency TASS. Schoigu therefore referred to changes to the Russian nuclearoctrin made last year. In the event of an attack, Russia is allowed to use nuclear weapons, also with conventional weapons, in the event of an attack. (APA/Reuters)