Ukraine can forget about NATO – Trump — RT World News

US President Donald Trump has stated that Ukraine should abandon its aspirations to join NATO, acknowledging this as a possible reason behind the conflict with Russia. Moscow has consistently opposed the US-led bloc’s eastward expansion, viewing it as a threat to its national security.

Trump has repeatedly blamed the Ukraine conflict on his predecessor Joe Biden’s support for Kiev’s NATO ambitions, claiming that it would never have started under his leadership. He reiterated this following a lengthy phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, and again during a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday.

“NATO, we can forget about that. It was probably the reason this whole thing started,” Trump said when asked what “concessions” could be expected in a potential peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev. He added that Russia “will have to” make some concessions as well, but did not specify what these would involve.

Earlier this month, Trump endorsed remarks by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who stated that Kiev must accept the reality that returning to the pre-2014 borders is not feasible and that NATO membership is off the table.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed Trump’s NATO comments as a sign that he understands Moscow’s position and its desire for a lasting peace.

“He was the first and so far, I think, the only Western leader who has admitted, publicly and loudly, that one of the root causes of the Ukraine situation was the previous administration’s ‘pushy’ policy of dragging Ukraine into NATO,” Lavrov said last week.