Trump says ‘dividing up lands’ within negotiations between Russia, Ukraine ‘is being negotiated as we speak’

Trump says ‘dividing up lands’ within negotiations between Russia, Ukraine ‘is being negotiated as we speak’

U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 21 that as part of the negotiations to end the war, the parties will have an agreement on territorial division.

Trump’s statement comes ahead of the U.S. separate talks with Russia and Ukraine scheduled for March 24 in Saudi Arabia.

“Pretty soon, we’ll have a full ceasefire, and then we’re going to have a contract,” Trump said during a press briefing, adding that the future deal includes “dividing up the lands.”

“It’s being negotiated as we speak,” Trump said without specifying the format of the talks.

During the briefing, Trump also dodged a question about imposing new sanctions on Russia as it continues to attack Ukraine.

“Well, they’re fighting against each other,” Trump said.

Russia occupied and illegally annexed Crimea at the start of its war against Ukraine in 2014. After the outbreak of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Moscow also illegally declared annexation of partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected recognizing Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories in any peace talks, calling it a “red line” that Kyiv will not cross. Ukraine’s Constitution states that the “territory of Ukraine within its present border is indivisible and inviolable.”

The Semafor outlet reported earlier this week that the Trump administration is considering recognizing Crimea as part of a peace deal. Washington has not confirmed this claim.