Trump and Zelenskiy clash again and US warns it could abandon Ukraine talks

By Doina Chiacu, Elizabeth Piper and John Irish

WASHINGTON/LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy clashed again on Wednesday on efforts to end the three-year-old war in Ukraine, with the U.S. leader chiding Zelenskiy for refusing to recognize Russia's occupation of Crimea.

Trump's Vice President JD Vance said it was time for Russia and Ukraine to either agree to a U.S. peace proposal "or for the United States to walk away from the process," echoing a warning Trump gave last week.

Speaking to reporters in India, Vance said the proposal called for freezing territorial lines "at some level close to where they are today" and a "long-term diplomatic settlement that hopefully will lead to long-term peace."

"The only way to really stop the killing is for the armies to both put down their weapons, to freeze this thing," he said.

A former Western official familiar with the U.S. proposal said it also called for the recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on Wednesday in an X post that he stressed to the U.S. in London that Ukraine "will stand firm on its core principles during the negotiations" that relate to sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Zelenskiy on Tuesday reiterated that Ukraine will not recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea, saying: "There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution."

Trump, who argued with Zelenskiy in a televised Oval Office meeting in March, called this an inflammatory statement that made a peace deal harder to achieve.

The U.S. president said Crimea was lost years ago "and is not even a point of discussion."

"Nobody is asking Zelenskiy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Russian fighters seized control of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 in a move that was condemned internationally. Few countries recognize Russia's claim to Crimea.

Trump scolded the Ukrainian leader and said the U.S. was trying to stop the killing in his country and that they were "very close to a deal" for peace.

Since taking office in January, Trump has sharply altered the U.S. approach, pressing Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire while easing many measures the Biden administration took to punish Russia for its 2022 full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Nevertheless, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said after Wednesday's talks, Kyiv was committed to working with the U.S. to achieve peace.

RUBIO CANCELS LONDON TRIP

Earlier, U.S., Ukrainian and European officials met in London for peace talks aimed at ending the three-year war. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cancelled his trip there, raising questions over how much progress was being made.

Rubio's no-show prompted cancellation of a broader meeting with foreign ministers from Ukraine, Britain, France and Germany, underscoring the gaps between Washington, Kyiv and its European allies over how to bring an end to the war.

Trump has warned Washington could walk away if there was no progress on a deal soon. He raised the pressure on Sunday when he said he hoped Moscow and Kyiv would make a deal this week to end the conflict.

At the heart of Wednesday's talks was an attempt to establish what Kyiv could possibly accept after Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff presented proposals to a similar session in Paris last week. Three diplomats said those proposals appeared to demand more concessions from Ukraine than Russia.

A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer played down any disappointment over Rubio's abrupt cancellation and said the talks involved "substantive technical meetings with European, U.S. and Ukrainian officials on how to stop the fighting."

"We remain absolutely committed to securing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and these talks today are an important part of that," the spokesperson said.

One official close to the negotiations said progress was being made.

Since Trump expressed his desire to broker peace in Ukraine and made a surprise call to Russian President Vladimir Putin in February, European nations have scrambled to find ways to support Kyiv against Moscow while keeping the U.S. onside.

But Witkoff's proposals, which several sources have said included recognising Russia's annexation of Crimea, Washington beginning to lift sanctions on Russia and ruling out Ukrainian membership of NATO, were unacceptable to both Kyiv and other European nations.

Sources said U.S. proposals include Ukraine and the Europeans accepting Russia's control of the 20% of Ukraine's territory that it has gained in the war. Russia is pushing for lifting of EU sanctions against it before negotiations are finished, which Europe staunchly opposes, diplomats said.

A source close to the discussions said the downgrading of the parley came after Ukraine drafted a paper for the Europeans on Tuesday in which it said there would be no discussions on territorial issues until "a full and unconditional ceasefire".

(Reporting by John Irish in Paris, Elizabeth Piper, Daphne Psaledakis and Tom Balmforth in London; additional reporting by Erin Banco, Jonathan Landay and Steve Holland in Washington and Yuliia Dysa, Anna Pruchnicka and Max Hunder in Kyiv; Writing by David Brunnstrom, Liz Piper and Kate Holton; editing by Humeyra Pamuk, Alison Williams, Ros Russell, Mark Heinrich and Cynthia Osterman)