Trump thinks Zelenskyy is ready to 'give up' Crimea in bid to achieve peace deal
Donald Trump has said he thinks Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to “give up” Crimea in a bid to achieve a peace deal with Russia.
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Trump, who last week said a deal between Ukraine and Russia was “very close”, told reporters he “thinks” Zelenskyy would be willing to cede the territory taken by Moscow in 2014.
These comments come despite Kyiv’s previous rejections of such proposals.
It comes as the US President urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin to "stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal."
Trump and Zelenskyy held “historic” talks on Saturday ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral.
Read more: US ‘could walk away’ from peace talks if Ukraine and Russia don’t give up land, warns JD Vance
Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to… pic.twitter.com/q4ZhVXCjw0
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 26, 2025
The White House said talks had gone well, describing Zelenskyy as “calmer” compared to the pair’s previous meeting.
"I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal," Trump said.
On Putin, he said: "I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal.”
He added he was "very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places after discussions."
Despite suggestions Crimea could be handed over to Moscow in the coming weeks, Trump continued: "We'll see what happens in the next few days… don't talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea."
Zelenskyy said the meeting with the US president before the funeral was "very symbolic". The White House said the meeting lasted 15 minutes and was "very productive".
The Ukrainian president said after the meeting, which took the place: "Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered.
"Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and France's Emmanuel Macron were also pictured alongside the American and Ukrainian presidents at the Pope’s funeral.
A Downing Street spokesperson said of Sir Keir's meeting with Zelenskyy: "They discussed positive progress made in recent days to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
"They agreed to maintain momentum and continue working intensively with international partners to drive forward the next stages of planning. The leaders agreed to speak again at the earliest opportunity."
Last week, the US president told reporters that he was putting "a lot of pressure" on both sides to bring an end to the war, but did not share any specifics on these negotiations.
He made the remarks following a meeting with Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in the Oval Office, who praised Mr Trump for his "initiatives to make progress".
Also this week, Mr Trump issued a direct plea to Vladimir Putin on his Truth Social platform urging Moscow to stop strikes on Ukraine.
His post came after at least nine people were killed and more than 70 were injured after a Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital on Thursday.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!," he wrote.
Expanding on his comments in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: "I didn't like last night['s attack on Kiev]... we were in the midst of talking peace and missiles were fired."