USA and Europe are far apart Trump wants to cede Crimea to Russia - details of secret plan come to light

In the struggle to end the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump is pushing for quick agreements - but new documents show: The USA, Europe and Ukraine are far apart on key issues.

In an effort to quickly end the war in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump is proposing far-reaching concessions to Russia - but these are meeting with massive resistance from Ukraine and its European partners. This was reported by the news agency Reuters, which had access to confidential drafts of the negotiations.

According to the documents, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff not only wants to officially recognize Russia's control over Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, on behalf of the USA, but also de facto approve Russian rule over parts of southern and eastern Ukrainian territory. According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the papers as a "broad framework" for resolving the differences.

Unlike the American proposals, the counter-proposals drawn up by Ukraine and Europe call for territorial issues to be negotiated only after a ceasefire - recognition of Russian territorial gains is clearly ruled out.

Major differences on security guarantees

There are also major differences of opinion on security guarantees. According to Witkoff's draft, Ukraine should renounce NATO membership and rely on vaguely formulated promises of protection from European partners. The Ukrainian-European response, on the other hand, calls for a clear protection agreement along the lines of the NATO defense alliance and the free deployment of friendly troops on Ukrainian soil.

Economically, Trump wants to accommodate Russia by immediately lifting the sanctions, as Reuters writes further. Kiev and Europe, on the other hand, are focusing on a gradual easing of sanctions, linked to actual progress towards peace. They are also demanding that frozen Russian assets be used to compensate Ukraine.

"Crimea remains Russian"

At the same time, an interview by Donald Trump with Time magazine caused additional tension. In it, the US President made it clear: "Crimea will remain with Russia." Trump emphasized: "The Russians have been there for a long time, long before our talks even began. The majority of the people in Crimea speak Russian." He added: "Selensky understands that, and everybody understands that."

For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, the return of Crimea remains non-negotiable. He has repeatedly emphasized that any cession would violate the Ukrainian constitution. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 in violation of international law and has since greatly expanded its military.