The US is considering recognizing that Crimea is part of Russia and may urge the UN to do the same, American news website Semafor reported on Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
According to Semafor, President Donald Trump has not made any decisions. The discussions about the status of Crimea are in line with a “multitude of options being floated as his administration pushes for an end of the war,” the publication said.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told Semafor that the White House “made no such commitments, and we will not negotiate [a peace] deal through the media.”
“The goal remains the same: stop the killing and find a peaceful resolution to this conflict,” Hughes said.
Crimea, which is mostly populated by ethnic Russians, voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia in 2014, following a US-backed coup in Kiev to oust democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovich which led to the immediate nullification of certain language rights. The UN continues to view the region as Ukrainian territory.
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire during their phone call on Tuesday. Putin stressed last week that any settlement must address “the original causes of the crisis.” He has expressed concerns that Ukraine could use the pause in the fighting to replenish its military in the aftermath of a series of losses on the battlefield.
Moscow insists that, for a lasting peace, Ukraine must drop its aspirations to join NATO and become a permanently neutral state. Russia has also said that Ukraine must renounce its claims to Crimea and four other regions that voted to join Russia in 2022.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has backed the temporary ceasefire but ruled out any territorial concessions to Russia. Trump has accused him of not wanting to achieve peace and argued that he did not “have the cards” to dictate terms.
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