President Trump said on Wednesday that Ukraine could “forget about” joining NATO and that the country’s potential membership in the alliance was likely the reason why the war started.
When asked what concessions he would like to see for a peace deal, he said, “NATO, you can forget about it. I think that’s probably the reason the whole thing started.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has already ruled out the idea of Ukrainian NATO membership as part of any potential peace deal. The Trump administration’s position is a significant shift from the Biden administration, which constantly promised Ukraine would eventually join NATO and called Russia’s invasion “unprovoked.”
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has been involved in negotiations with Russia, recently acknowledged that the invasion was “provoked” and said that “doesn’t necessarily mean it was provoked by the Russians.”
In the months leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US and Russia engaged in negotiations, but the Biden administration refused to address Moscow’s concerns over the possibility of Ukrainian NATO membership.
Shortly after the invasion, Zelensky said he was told privately by the US that Ukraine wouldn’t be joining NATO. “I requested them personally to say directly that we are going to accept you into NATO in a year or two or five, just say it directly and clearly, or just say no,” Zelensky said in March 2022. “And the response was very clear, you’re not going to be a NATO member, but publicly, the doors will remain open.”
