Just hours before Volodymyr Zelensky enters his office to sign a major rare earth mineral deal, Donald Trump has declared that Ukraine can "forget" about NATO membership, blaming the alliance for causing the conflict with Russia.
The US president made the comments at his first cabinet meeting since his inauguration. He boldly declared that war-torn Ukraine could forget about NATO membership, blaming the alliance for fueling the conflict.
“I can tell you that you can forget about NATO,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting in response to a reporter’s question about Russia’s war of aggression and Ukraine’s concessions. The debate over membership in the defense alliance was “probably the reason the whole war started,” Trump said, perhaps with the aim of waging war on Russian aggression.
Trump also ruled out security guarantees, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested again on Wednesday. As Ukraine's "direct neighbor," Europe has a responsibility to provide.
At the same time, Trump expressed his belief that Vladimir Putin wants to reach an agreement and that he too must make concessions.
"Yes, he wants a deal. And I believe that because we got elected, the war will end. And I also believe if we weren't elected, if this administration didn't win the election, that war would go on for a long time and he would want to take all of Ukraine," Trump declared.
Meanwhile, a Russian delegation has arrived at the residence of the US Consul General in Istanbul for talks aimed at addressing bilateral issues over the operations of the two countries' embassies. A US official said the US delegation will be led by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, while the Russian delegation will be led by the Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's North Atlantic Department. (A2 Televizion)
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