"No discussion needed": Zelenskyy comments on U.S. proposal to recognize Crimea as Russian

He made this statement during a press conference.

"As for the proposals: these are signals, ideas, visions, and there are different ways to talk about it, but this is not an official proposal. If there is an official proposal, we will respond immediately... Ukraine will not legally recognize Crimea’s occupation, there is nothing to discuss. It’s outside of our Constitution, it is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine," the president said.

He also added that he does not know whether these signals are coming from the Russians or from U.S. officials.

At the same time, Zelenskyy emphasized that after a ceasefire, Kyiv is ready to sit down for negotiations with Russia to avoid a "deadlock."

"Ukraine confirms that it wants a quick, fair peace for itself... If we do not want to play Minsk-3, 4, 5, and repeat the Normandy format (...), we must look at this war as a pie and divide this big problem into pieces. As soon as we start talking about Crimea, sovereign territories, etc., we enter the format Russia wants – dragging out the war because it won't be easy to reach an agreement quickly," the Ukrainian leader stressed.

He also emphasized that there needs to be global pressure on Moscow, including from the U.S.

"We supported President Trump’s unconditional ceasefire. The game 'let’s discuss everything in one day' will not work. It indicates that people will continue fighting, dying, and there will be a long dialogue. What’s the point? To pressure us so that America gets tired and exits the process… This is Putin’s game, definitely not President Trump’s game, not Europe’s game," Zelenskyy said.

• On April 23, representatives from Ukraine, the U.S., the UK, and France will hold negotiations in London. The meeting will focus on a possible ceasefire agreement with Russia.
• The Washington Post later reported that during these negotiations, the U.S. will propose recognizing annexed Crimea as Russian and freezing the front line.