The Japan Times - Zelensky insists Crimea 'belongs' to Ukraine as US envoy meets Putin

With Ukraine fearful Trump could force it to cede Crimea -- the strategic Black Sea peninsula seized by Russia in 2014 -- Zelensky insisted the territory is "the property of the Ukrainian people".

"Our position is unchanged," he told reporters in Kyiv. "The constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories... belong to Ukraine."

The statement came after US envoy Steve Witkoff held a three-hour meeting with Putin in the Kremlin, and amid a new burst of violence in the conflict: a Russian strike that killed 12 people in Kyiv Thursday, and a car bomb that killed a Russian general Friday, which Russia blamed on Ukraine.

Zelensky cited the Kyiv strike as one of the reasons he might miss Pope Francis's funeral Saturday, where he could potentially have met Trump for the first time since an explosive confrontation with the US president in the Oval Office in February.

Trump is pushing for a ceasefire in the more than three-year conflict, but has so far been unable to extract any meaningful concessions from Putin.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Witkoff and Putin had held a "constructive" conversation, including "a discussion on the possibility of renewing direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine".

Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks on halting the fighting since the start of Moscow's offensive in February 2022, which has devastated swathes of eastern Ukraine and killed tens of thousands of people.

Lower-level officials have cooperated in areas such as prisoner exchanges, the return of dead soldiers' remains and a now-defunct Black Sea grain deal.

The United States is holding talks with both sides separately in a bid to end the conflict.

But Kyiv and its European allies fear Moscow and Washington will strike an unfair deal for Ukraine.

Ushakov said the meeting had brought the US and Russian positions on Ukraine "closer together".

Witkoff, a billionaire real-estate investor and one of the US president's most trusted aides, is playing a key role in Washington's peace efforts, though he has made several comments that have infuriated Ukraine.

- 'Vladimir, STOP' -

Trump has threatened to walk away from talks if he does not see progress towards a ceasefire.

On Thursday, after Russia launched its deadliest strike on Kyiv in months, Trump wrote on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!", adding "Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!"

When asked how he would respond if Russia did not accept a deal, Trump said Thursday: "I won't be happy, let me put it that way. Things will happen."

As Witkoff visited Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US broadcaster CBS that Moscow was "ready to reach a deal", but that unnamed details needed to be addressed.

The United States has not revealed details of its peace plan, but has suggested freezing the front line and accepting Russian control of Crimea in exchange for peace.

Trump was quoted as saying in a TIME magazine interview published on Friday: "Crimea will stay with Russia. And Zelensky understands that."

Ukraine has rejected ceding ground to Moscow, and says it will not accept Russian control of Crimea.

But Zelensky has recently accepted that he might have to try to secure the return of some land captured by Russia through diplomacy once a ceasefire is in place.

"I agree with President Trump that Ukraine does not have enough weapons to regain control of the Crimean peninsula with weapons," he said Friday.

Zelensky has expressed frustration at a lack of Western "pressure" on Putin.

- 'Five territories' -

Putin last month rejected a US proposal of a full and unconditional ceasefire that Zelensky has accepted and repeatedly called for since.

Trump, who has been accused of favouring Russia and has repeatedly vilified Zelensky, said Thursday the main concession Russia would make in any peace deal was "stopping taking the whole country".

Moscow currently occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine and has attempted to annex four other Ukrainian regions besides Crimea.

Witkoff told Fox News earlier this month a peace settlement hinged on the status of the "so-called five territories" -- drawing a sharp rebuke from Zelensky, who accused the US envoy of "spreading Russian narratives".

Russia blamed Ukrainian security services, who are believed to be behind a string of high-profile assassinations in Russia during Moscow's offensive.

Y.Hara--JT