Trump was struck by comparison of russia's demand to hand over Donetsk Region with US giving up part of Florida — Financial Times

European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained that russia's demands for the transfer of occupied territories can be imagined as a situation in which Washington would have to give up part of the state of Florida. Such an analogy struck US President Donald Trump.

This is what the Financial Times writes.

According to the publication, one of the key obstacles in the peace talks is the kremlin's demand: russia wants Ukraine to agree to cede the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions in exchange for freezing the front line in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Regions. Kyiv categorically rejects the possibility of giving up its territories.

Two FT interlocutors confirmed that it was the comparison of Donetsk and Florida that was used by the Ukrainian delegation and European politicians during a meeting at the White House on August 18. This analogy, according to them, helped demonstrate the unacceptability of russia's demands and forced Trump to look at the situation from a different perspective.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on August 19, US President Donald Trump announced the start of preparations for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and russian president vladimir putin.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine should abandon hopes of returning Crimea occupied by russia and joining the North Atlantic Alliance.

At a closed meeting at the White House, European leaders tried to explain to US President Donald Trump why the transfer of all territories of the Donetsk Region to russia could be catastrophic. Finnish President Alexander Stuub compared the Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk to a "bastion against the Huns," which, according to sources, made a strong impression on Trump.