President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that Ukraine would not join NATO prior to his Friday white house meeting with President Volodymyr Zensky.
“But I can tell you that NATO can forget you,” said Trump. “I think that's probably the reason that it all started.”
Trump referred to the infringement of the Russian 2022 in Ukraine.
Originally Trump's new Minister of Defense Pete Hegseeth was who suggested that NATO membership for Ukraine was gone.
Asked in mid -February about Hegseeth's comments, Trump replied: 'That is probably true' that it was 'unlikely or impractical' for Ukraine to join the strategic military alliance against Russia.
“They say that for years that Ukraine cannot go into NATO, and I think that's good,” Trump said at the time, adding that he wanted the war to end.
Trump's statement occurs on two important meetings in the White House, first on Thursday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and then with Zelenksy on Friday.
The president said during the cabinet meeting that Zelenksy is coming to Washington, signs a minerals deal, referring to it as a 'a very big agreement'.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he does not want Ukraine to meet NATO at his Friday -white house
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zensky is holding a press conference in KYIV on Wednesday morning prior to his Friday meeting in the White House with President Donald Trump
Trump had complained about the billions of taxpayers who have gone in the three years since the Moscow invasion to defend Ukraine.
The rare earth minerals deal, he has pushed, would help Ukraine repay the US
“The previous administration brought us into a very bad position, but we were able to close a deal where we get the money back in the future and a lot of money,” Trump said.
The minerals are used in the nuclear, space and defense industry.
On Wednesday, Zensky confirmed that a framework for the Minerals Deal had been reached, but noted that it still did not include security guarantees, which the Ukrainian president considers essential.
Those details must be worked out during Friday's meetings.
Trump suggested on Wednesday that it would be the duty of Europe to send peacemakes to Ukraine.
“I'm not going to make security guarantees … very much,” said the president. “We're going to let Europe do that.”
