No NATO, no Crimea: Trump pressures Zelensky before White House talks

President Trump and President Putin during their Alaska summit talks. Photo: Getty Images
Donald Trump has drawn a hard line on Ukraine’s future, ruling out both NATO membership and any claim to Crimea as he prepares for a high-stakes meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House today.
The Ukrainian leader, accompanied by several top European officials, is returning to Washington nearly six months after his abrupt ejection from the White House by Trump in an incident that stunned global observers earlier this year.
According to the White House schedule, Trump and Zelensky will meet at 1:15 p.m. local time (5:15 p.m. GMT), followed by a broader multilateral session with European leaders at 3 p.m.
Trump’s latest stance comes just days after his private talks with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The former reality TV star turned president has been pressing Zelensky to accept a peace agreement that would leave Crimea under Russian control and exclude Ukraine from NATO — a proposal mirroring Moscow’s long-standing demands.
In a blunt post on Truth Social, Trump insisted: “President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. No getting back Obama-given Crimea… and NO NATO FOR UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that Trump and Putin had discussed offering Ukraine security guarantees through the United States and its European allies, even as Kyiv braces for the difficult choices such negotiations may entail.