Trump floats Ukraine 'may be Russian someday' ahead of Zelensky-Vance meeting

by Victoria LUKOVENKO

U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea that Ukraine "may be Russian someday", as his Vice President JD Vance gears up to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later this week.

Pushing for an end to the nearly three-year war with Russia, Trump discussed the conflict in an interview with broadcaster Fox News that aired Monday.

"They may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday," he said.

Trump also emphasised reaping a return on investment with US aid to Ukraine, suggesting a trade for Kyiv's natural resources, such as rare minerals.

"We are going to have all this money in there, and I say I want it back. And I told them that I want the equivalent, like $500 billion worth of rare earth," Trump said. "And they have essentially agreed to do that, so at least we don't feel stupid."

Trump also confirmed Monday that he will soon dispatch to Ukraine his special envoy Keith Kellogg, who is tasked with drawing up a proposal to halt the fighting.

Trump is pressing for a swift end to the conflict, while Zelensky is calling for tough security guarantees from Washington as part of any deal with Russia.

Kyiv fears that any settlement that does not include hard military commitments -- such as NATO membership or the deployment of peacekeeping troops -- will just allow the Kremlin time to regroup and rearm for a fresh attack.

Zelensky's spokesman Sergiy Nikiforov told AFP the Ukrainian president will meet with Vance this Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

A source in Zelensky's office said Kellogg would arrive in Ukraine on February 20, without detailing where in the country he would visit.

His trip would come just days before the three-year anniversary of Russia's invasion on February 24.

Zelensky called Monday for "real peace and effective security guarantees" for Ukraine.

"Security of people, security of our state, security of economic relations and, of course, our resource sustainability: not only for Ukraine, but for the entire free world," he said.

"All of this is being decided now," Zelensky added in a video address published on social media.

- Trump meetings -

Trump has said he wants to broker an end to the war but has not outlined a detailed proposal to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.

Both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin have previously ruled out direct talks with each other, and there appears to be little ground where the two could strike a deal.

Putin is demanding that Ukraine withdraw from swathes of its south and east that Kyiv still has control over, and considers closer ties between Ukraine and NATO inadmissible.

Zelensky has meanwhile rejected any territorial concessions to Moscow, though he has acknowledged that Ukraine might have to rely on diplomatic means to secure the return of some territory.

Russia says it has annexed five regions of Ukraine -- Crimea in 2014 and then Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia in 2022 -- though it does not have full control over them.

Zelensky said Monday a meeting with Trump was being arranged though a date had not yet been fixed, while Trump had said last week he would "probably" meet Zelensky in the coming days, but ruled out personally travelling to Kyiv.

The New York Post reported Saturday that Trump told the publication he had spoken on the phone to Putin to discuss bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine, saying the Russian leader had told him he "wants to see people stop dying".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm or deny the call.

Organisers of the closely followed Munich Security Conference had confirmed earlier Monday that Zelensky would attend the Feb 14-16 summit.

The US delegation is set to include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as Kellogg and Vance, MSC chair Christoph Heusgen told a Berlin press conference.

There will be no representatives of the Russian government present, Heusgen said.

The meeting comes with Russia advancing across Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, where it has captured several settlements -- mostly completely flattened by months of Russian bombardments -- over the past year.

Moscow has also pursued a months-long bombing campaign against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, claiming the attacks targeted facilities that aid Kyiv's military.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian energy minister said the energy sector "continues to be under attack", and Kyiv is "urgently apply emergency power supply restrictions" to "minimise possible consequences".

© Agence France-Presse