White House Pushes Back on Zelenskyy’s Crimea Remarks Amid Stalled Talks

The President of the United States criticized Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the publication of his remarks in The Wall Street Journal, where the Ukrainian leader reaffirmed his country’s non-recognition of Russia’s occupation of Crimea, Orda.kz reports.

The criticism arose in the wake of disrupted negotiations on a ceasefire in Ukraine, which were expected to involve officials from Ukraine, the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The talks were reportedly postponed due to Ukraine's opposition to a proposed peace plan, among its provisions, the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, and other territorial concessions.

Following this, on Truth Social, the U.S. President suggested that Crimea had been effectively lost years ago and should not be a focal point of current negotiations. He also argued that continued calls to reclaim the peninsula were hindering efforts to de-escalate the conflict.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt later commented that President Zelenskyy’s decision to share his stance on the negotiations publicly was “moving in the wrong direction,” and that discussing sensitive diplomatic matters through the media was deemed inappropriate by Washington.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy published on X (formerly Twitter) a screenshot of the 2018 “Crimean Declaration” issued by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, underlining the U.S. position during the Trump administration that Russia’s annexation of Crimea would not be recognized.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova