Kyiv should show flexibility in the course of negotiations with Moscow about a peace agreement, stated the President of the United States Donald Trump on Fox News. In his opinion, Ukraine will "regain its life," stop losing people, and receive "a lot of land" in the end.
"Russia is a powerful military state, whether someone likes it or not. It is a large state, significantly larger. This is not the kind of war that should have been started. That's not how it's done. You can't go against a country that is ten times bigger than you. As for Donbas, you've all seen the map, it is 79% controlled by Russia. They [Ukrainians] understand this," noted Trump.
The American leader stated that he does not plan to attend the first possible meeting of the leaders of Ukraine and Russia. At the same time, he expressed the opinion that Zelensky and Putin will be able to reach an agreement. "I think that Putin and Zelensky get along a little better than I thought. I think they are doing well. I wouldn't say they will ever become best friends, but they are doing well," said Trump. At the same time, he stated that Ukraine should not hope for the return of Crimea, as it is "impossible."
The President of the United States also expressed hope that "Putin will behave well," otherwise "the situation will be difficult."
Speaking about post-war guarantees for Ukraine, Trump noted that France, Germany, and the United Kingdom want the presence of a military contingent directly in Ukraine to be part of these guarantees. The President of the United States believes that Russia "will not object," as "everyone is already tired" of the conflict. According to him, the United States can help Europe with the deployment of troops in Ukraine, including air support, but there will be no American troops directly in Ukraine.
In the interview, Trump also shared some details of the meeting held the day before at the White House with his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Zelensky and the heads of European countries. In particular, he talked about how the call to the Russian president took place.
"I think they [Europeans] expected that I would not do this in front of them. I thought it would be disrespectful to President Putin. You know, I wouldn't do that because they don't have the warmest relations. And actually, President Putin wouldn't talk to people from Europe. I mean, that was part of the problem. They hadn't had contact with the White House for years, as people were dying for years because of [Joe] Biden and his people. No contact. <...> These are broken relations. I maintained very good relations. I mean, you saw that when he got off his plane, I got off mine too. There is a warmth that cannot be conveyed, there is a sense of decency. And that's good, not bad."
Meanwhile, Switzerland will provide Putin with immunity from prosecution if he comes to the country for peace negotiations, stated the country's Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. According to the minister, the Swiss government has established a "rule of granting immunity to a person who is under an international arrest warrant" if this person comes to a peace conference, and not for private reasons.
Geneva is named as one of the possible places where negotiations between Putin and Zelensky could take place. This option, in particular, was supported by the President of France Emmanuel Macron.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Putin and the children's ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of the illegal deportation of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia.
Photo: The New York Times