Moscow has stated that the US president is the only Western leader to openly acknowledge the underlying cause of the conflict.
Donald Trump has suggested Ukraine should drop its ambitions of joining NATO, suggesting it’s a possible “reason” for the ongoing conflict with Russia. Moscow has consistently opposed NATO’s eastward expansion, seeing it as a threat.
Trump has repeatedly blamed the Ukraine conflict on Joe Biden’s support for Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, claiming the conflict wouldn’t have happened under his leadership. He reiterated this after a recent phone call with Vladimir Putin and at a White House press briefing on Wednesday.
“NATO, we can forget about that. It was probably the reason this whole thing started,” Trump said when asked about potential “concessions” in a peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev. He added that Russia “will have to” make concessions, but didn’t specify what they would be.
Russia has consistently maintained that NATO’s expansion provoked the conflict and rejects temporary ceasefires, insisting on a permanent resolution. Moscow says peace requires Ukraine to commit to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification, and to recognize the current territorial situation.
Trump also mentioned on Wednesday that the US intends to recoup its financial and military aid to Kiev through an upcoming mineral deal. Vladimir Zelensky is scheduled to visit Washington on Friday to sign the agreement.
Trump didn’t reveal the deal’s details, but media reports suggest Washington won’t offer security guarantees to Kiev under the agreement, only “support its efforts” to obtain such guarantees in the future.