US President Donald Trump emphasized that Ukraine should recover "as much territory as possible" within the framework of a peace agreement with Russia.
However, according to the politician, Kyiv should not attempt to join NATO, as this would be "the cause of everything starting," Trump said.
Trump described Russian President Vladimir Putin as "a very smart person," but at the same time, the American politician expressed confidence that the Russian leader is "ready to compromise."
In his speech at the cabinet meeting, Trump highlighted that the US would "do everything possible to ensure the best agreement for both sides."
“As for Ukraine – we will work hard for them to recover as much of their territory as possible,” the media quoted him as saying.
It has not been clarified which territories may be returned to Ukraine.
As a reminder, according to the results of the referendum, the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, became part of Russia.
Speaking about Ukraine's prospects for joining NATO, Trump emphasized that this intention is not very effective.
“I can say that we can forget about NATO. I think this is probably the cause of everything starting,” he said.
According to him, the most difficult issue will be the peace agreement, while the easiest will be to decide on the presence of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.
Trump previously called for allowing the possibility of reaching a peace agreement, as "it will be much easier to resolve the rest." He proposed to make a "deal" with the Russian president but expressed skepticism about it.
“I cannot guarantee this – there can always be unexpected situations in agreements, but I think we will reach an agreement,” he said, adding that Putin needs to compromise.
At the same time, Trump emphasized that he considers Putin "a very smart and very cunning person." The US is planning to establish "excellent relations" with Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing, and Middle Eastern countries.
Regarding the issue of lifting sanctions against Russia, Trump stated that he wants to "first see how the agreement ends."
