“No matter what deal I make with respect to Russia and Ukraine, no matter how good it is, even if it’s the greatest deal ever made, The Failing New York Times will speak badly of it. Liddle’ Peter Baker, the very biased and untalented writer for The Times, followed his editor’s demands and wrote that Ukraine should get back territory, including, I suppose, Crimea, and other ridiculous requests,” the US leader wrote in a post on his Truth Social page, commenting on The New York Times article, in which the authors adhered to pro-Ukrainian rhetoric.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the United States was to present in London a seven-point plan to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, including the US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, at talks in London on April 23. Vladimir Zelensky rejected this possibility the day before, and then, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to travel to the UK, The New York Times reported. It was noted that the US side at the meeting would be represented by US presidential special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg.

On April 23, Trump said that Zelensky’s comments that Ukraine would not recognize Crimea as Russian were bad for negotiations “in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Obama and is not even a point of discussion.”

The next day, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that Trump’s words about Crimea’s ownership not even being a point of discussion now were fully in line with Russia’s position on the issue. As Trump later said in an interview with Time magazine, Zelensky understands that Crimea will remain in Russia’s possession.

On March 16, 2014, a referendum was held on the peninsula’s reunification with Russia. Over 80% of voters participated in the plebiscite, the overwhelming majority of whom supported reunification (96.7% in Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol). On March 18, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty on the admission of Crimea and Sevastopol to Russia, and on March 21, the document was ratified by the Federal Assembly. Despite the convincing results of the referendum, reflecting the clear will of the local population, Kiev has refused to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.

MNA/