Trump: Ukraine should forget about joining NATO

US President Donald Trump emphasized that the United States will not provide additional security guarantees to Ukraine. “I will not provide more security guarantees than we have. We will leave this issue to Europe... But we will certainly make sure that everything will be fine,” Trump said at a government meeting on February 26. According to him, if European peacekeeping forces are introduced into Ukraine, Washington could support this initiative.

Trump expressed confidence that he could help stop the war in Ukraine. In his opinion, Russia will be forced to compromise in peace negotiations. “We will do everything we can to reach an agreement that is beneficial for both sides,” Trump told reporters. He also stated that he would try to guarantee that the agreement would be beneficial for Ukraine. According to him, the US could help Ukraine regain some of the lost territories, but this is a complex issue.

At the same time, Trump stressed that Ukraine needs to “forget about NATO.” In his view, the war started precisely because of Ukraine's desire to join the North Atlantic Alliance.

The US president confirmed that Volodymyr Zelensky would visit Washington on February 28. According to him, Zelensky is coming to sign an agreement with the US regarding “rare and other materials.” Trump noted that this agreement would help cover the military aid allocated to Ukraine by the Biden administration and would greatly benefit the United States.

Previously, Zelensky stated that this agreement was not related to covering military aid provided to Ukraine. He also mentioned that the document noted that the US government would provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the pursuit of long-term peace.