U.S. President Donald Trump believes that the temporarily occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea “will stay with Russia.”
He shared this opinion in an exclusive interview with Time magazine, reflecting on his first 100 days following his return to the White House, according to Ukrinform.
“Crimea will stay with Russia,” Trump said.
In the same interview, Trump also blamed Kyiv for initiating the Russia-Ukraine war.
“I think what caused the war to start was when they started talking about joining NATO,” he said.
Among other points, Trump expressed pride in having mobilized Europeans to contribute more to their security and for advancing peace between Israel and some Arab neighbors in his first term.
He voiced hopes for further progress on that front during a planned trip to the Middle East.
“Saudi Arabia will go into the Abraham accords. That will happen,” Trump predicted.
He said he feels more confident, more ambitious, less encumbered by guardrails than he did in his first term as Commander in Chief.
“Last time I was fighting for survival. This time I’m fighting for the world,” he said.
President Trump recently criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement that Ukraine would never legally recognize Russia’s occupation of Crimea, calling it “very harmful to the peace negotiations.”
