Trump puts himself in evidence and reveals one of the aspects of his betrayal of Ukraine

The President of the United States on Tuesday exposed one of his most disgraceful maneuvers in international politics.

The USA votes with Russia at the UN against a text because it rejects the invasion of Ukraine
This is not a peace process: it is favoring Russia and will not only have effects for Ukraine

A supposed peace plan that would reward Russia for invading Ukraine

This Tuesday, Axios.com leaked the points of a supposed Trump peace plan for Ukraine. Reading the text, what appears is not a peace plan, but rather a plan to reward Russia for having invaded Ukraine. The text includes the "de jure" recognition by the US of the Ukrainian region of Crimea as part of Russia; freezing the current front lines, recognizing "de facto" the Russian occupation in other parts of Ukraine; lifting US sanctions against Russia; and increasing US-Russia economic cooperation.

In contrast to these clear benefits for Russia, Ukraine would gain almost nothing firm. The plan speaks of a "security guarantee" that the US would not even support, the recovery of a small part of the Russian-occupied Kharkiv region, unhindered passage across the Dnieper River, and reconstruction aid. Such a plan would give Putin the time and resources to resume the war whenever he wants, and would be a major political victory for the Russian dictator ahead of a date as significant as the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Zelensky refuses to recognize Crimea as part of Russia

It should be noted that until yesterday there was no official confirmation of this plan from the White House. However, after acknowledging that he was unaware of the origin of these points, Zelensky stated this Monday:

Ukraine does not legally recognize Crimea as part of Russia; it is outside our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the Ukrainian people. This will not happen; I believe we have declared this in relation to any temporarily occupied territory. And the Constitution of Ukraine declares this by its very existence.

Trump responds furiously to Zelensky and highlights this point of his plan

Yesterday, on his Truth Social network, Trump reacted furiously to the Ukrainian president's words, attacking Zelensky for defending his country's territorial integrity. In his message, Trump states:

This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion. Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?

Trump's question is absurd, since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 and Zelensky has been president of Ukraine since 2019. When he took office, he found the territory already invaded. Furthermore, Trump's furious response makes it clear that he is not telling the truth and that this point was indeed part of his ultimatum to Ukraine. I say ultimatum because this is not a peace plan, but rather an extortion of the invaded country to make it yield to the invader's demands. Paradoxically, Trump, who exhibits incorrigible verbal incontinence, calls Zelensky's words "inflammatory statements", simply for defending his country's territorial integrity.

In 2018, Trump pledged not to recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Trump's position is not only unworthy of a US president, but also represents a betrayal of a firm commitment that he himself endorsed seven years ago. Yesterday at 9:06 p.m. CET, Zelensky recalled that commitment in a message posted on Twitter in which he stated:

"Ukraine will always act in accordance with its Constitution and we are absolutely sure that our partners in particular the USA will act in line with its strong decisions."

Along with this message, Zelensky showed an image of the Crimea Declaration, signed on July 25, 2018, by the United States under Trump's first term. The declaration read as follows:

Russia, through its 2014 invasion of Ukraine and its attempted annexation of Crimea, sought to undermine a bedrock international principle shared by democratic states: that no country can change the borders of another by force. The states of the world, including Russia, agreed to this principle in the United Nations Charter, pledging to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. This fundamental principle — which was reaffirmed in the Helsinki Final Act — constitutes one of the foundations upon which our shared security and safety rests.

As we did in the Welles Declaration in 1940, the United States reaffirms as policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law. In concert with allies, partners, and the international community, the United States rejects Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea and pledges to maintain this policy until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored.

The United States calls on Russia to respect the principles to which it has long claimed to adhere and to end its occupation of Crimea. As democratic states seek to build a free, just, and prosperous world, we must uphold our commitment to the international principle of sovereign equality and respect the territorial integrity of other states. Through its actions, Russia has acted in a manner unworthy of a great nation and has chosen to isolate itself from the international community.

Trump makes it clear that his word is no longer worth anything

By demanding that Ukraine give up part of its territory to an invader, Trump is not only betraying Ukraine and international law, but he is also demonstrating that his word as president is worthless. Something about which there was little doubt left, after Trump's claim in June 2024 that he would resolve this war in "24 hours", without explaining how.

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Photo: The White House.