In an interview with NBC News, US President Donald Trump stated that Russia does not have enough Ukrainian territories that it has already captured during the war. Moscow is aiming for complete control of Ukraine.
During the interview, Meet the Press host Kristen Welker asked President Trump what Russia would have to give up as part of a peace agreement with Ukraine. Trump responded, "All of Ukraine."
Welker followed up, asking if he meant that Russia would not leave any piece of Ukrainian land it has already captured. Trump clarified that he was referring to something else.
"No, no. Russia would have to give up all of Ukraine. Because what Russia wants is all of Ukraine. And if I didn’t get involved, they would be fighting right now for all of Ukraine. Russia doesn’t want the strip that they have now; Russia wants all of Ukraine. And if it weren’t me, they would keep going," said the US President.
Trump also revealed that European leaders had reportedly asked him multiple times to call Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Because he doesn’t return their phone call," he concluded.
Notably, Trump's comments contradict a recent statement from his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. In an interview with The Free Press, Rubio said that Russia doesn't plan to capture all of Ukraine. He also pointed out that neither Russia nor Ukraine will be able to fully achieve their military goals.
On April 24, Trump announced that Russia had made a major concession in the process of resolving the conflict in Ukraine and did not claim all of Ukrainian territory. Later, he called the demands to return the lost territories, including Crimea, to Ukraine “absurd.”
Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that the list of US proposals for resolving the Ukrainian conflict includes points that relate, in particular, to the official recognition of Crimea as Russian territory by the US, tacit recognition of Russian control over the new regions, and the removal of discussions on the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO from the agenda.
