Axios learned about Trump's willingness to recognize Crimea as Russian territory

US President Donald Trump is ready to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, but he does not require Ukraine to do so. This was reported on April 30 by the Axios portal, citing sources.

"When attempts to cease fire failed, the Trump administration switched to promoting a framework peace agreement, which [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky rejected in part because it includes recognition of Crimea as Russian territory," the article says.

According to the source, at a meeting in the Vatican on April 26, Zelensky told Trump that he would never recognize Crimea as Russian territory. It is clarified that at the same time, the American leader clarified that he did not require this from Kiev, since the agreement itself provides for recognition by the United States.

According to the portal's publication, Zelensky stated that he was not afraid to abandon his previous demands for the sake of resolving the conflict, but stressed that for this he needed "sufficiently reliable security guarantees."

Non-contact persons: Moscow does not see Kiev's readiness for real negotiations

Is it possible to resume direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine

Earlier in the day, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Simferopol, Artyom Berezovsky, said that the head of the Kiev regime refuses to recognize Crimea as part of Russia because of his own mercantile interests. According to him, Zelensky is trying to keep the Crimean and Ukrainian agenda in the field of world media attention.

Prior to that, on April 29, Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was easier to deal with than Zelensky. He clarified that he was trying to end the conflict, but the Ukrainian leader wanted more weapons and security guarantees from the United States.