Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor told Newsmax on Tuesday that Ukrainian citizens "are opposed" to ceding any territory to Russia.
The summit in Alaska last Friday between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without any concrete pathway to peace in Ukraine.
Trump is now seeking a formal meeting that includes Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where the topic of recognizing Russian land acquisition will be front and center.
"You were talking to those Ukrainians about what they feel about giving up land," Taylor said on "Wake Up America." "They're opposed. The Ukrainians are opposed to it. And recognizing that this kind of sensitive issue is up to the Ukrainians to decide. But there was one interesting aspect of this.
"The Russians clearly do occupy 19% of Ukrainian territory. That's a fact. What the Russians want is the Ukrainians, the Europeans, the Americans to recognize their ownership, their control, their sovereignty over [their gains] and make that part of Russia. And that won't happen."
Taylor, who served under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, noted that one solution might be to divide Ukraine as was done in Germany at the onset of the Cold War.
"But what might happen is you might just say, 'OK, Mr. Putin, we understand you're there temporarily. We accept that for now. We're not going to try to push you out militarily.' But we will expect that it will come back like West Germany did with East Germany after World War II," he added.
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James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.