Russia is most likely signaling to the US to recognize Crimea, realizing that Ukraine will not – Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow may discuss with Washington the recognition of the temporarily occupied Ukrainian Crimea as Russian, but Kyiv says it will not support such agreements. The head of state said this at a meeting with journalists on February 6, the LIGA.net.

"I believe that Russia is most likely sending a signal to America: recognize Crimea. Realizing that Ukraine does not recognize it. And realizing that Ukraine has influence in the European segment," Zelenskyy noted.

According to the president, even those states that are not supporters of Ukraine in this war still support its territorial integrity, as they understand that "by risking us, they will risk their own territories."

The head of state admitted that it is possible that Russia is talking to America about something similar to recognizing Crimea as Russian, but added: "We are simply sending a signal that all parties must agree on a decent and reliable end to the war, which does not create new risks of war through rewarding the aggressor."

Kyiv says that it will not support agreements in which "someone wants to resolve issues about us" that contradict the Constitution or legislation of Ukraine, Zelenskyy emphasized.

"It is clear that we, for example, want the war to end. We want America to be satisfied, and we want the Ukrainian people to be satisfied. And even if we are talking about compromises, they still have to be fair," the president explained.

He acknowledged that some things in the relationship between Washington and Moscow probably do not concern Kyiv, but stressed that if these issues "affect in some way" the national interests, people and territories of Ukraine, the state "would like to see this so that there are no problems later."

"And this should definitely not happen contrary to the interests of Ukrainians," the head of state summarized.

• Earlier, on February 5, Zelenskyy opposed the possibility of Russian recognition of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This happened after Russian propagandists claimed that Moscow had made such a demand regarding Donbas.
• Speaking to the media the next day, the president said that Russia had offered the United States an economic deal totaling $12 trillion.
• The head of state noted that the United States offered to end the war by the beginning of this summer.
• Zelenskyy says America has proposed a new round of trilateral talks on its own territory, in Miami.