Washington - Saba:
US President Donald Trump described demands to return Crimea and other territories to Ukraine to end the conflict as "ridiculous."
Trump said on the Truth Social platform: "No matter what deal he makes with Russia and Ukraine, no matter how good it is, even if it's the greatest deal ever, the failing New York Times will be reporting badly on it."
He added: "Peter Baker, a biased and untalented columnist for the New York Times, followed his editor's demands and wrote that Ukraine must take back territory, including, I think, Crimea, and other ridiculous demands, in order to stop [the conflict]."
On Wednesday, Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's "inflammatory" remarks regarding Kyiv's refusal to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, saying they harm peace negotiations and could prolong the conflict.
Earlier, Trump confirmed that the peace agreement currently under discussion includes recognition of Crimea as part of Russia.
On Thursday, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Trump's statement that Ukraine lost Crimea many years ago was fully consistent with the understanding of the Moscow leadership.
In response to a journalist's question on the matter, Peskov said, "This (statement) is fully consistent with our understanding and what we have been saying for a long time."
The Trump administration is mediating to end the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. In this context, the Saudi city of Jeddah hosted talks between delegations from the United States and Ukraine on March 11. During these talks, Ukraine expressed its readiness to accept a US proposal for an immediate and temporary ceasefire for 30 days, which could be extended by mutual agreement, provided Russia accepts and simultaneously implements the agreementز
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his acceptance of a US proposal to cease hostilities in Ukraine.
Putin emphasized that this proposal is only acceptable if it leads to long-term peace and eliminates the root causes of this crisis.
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