President Trump doubled down yesterday on his opposition to Ukraine joining the NATO military alliance as he prepares to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House today.
“Look, it’s not going to happen. … I could be very nice and say, ’Oh, well, we’ll look into it.’ It’s just not going to happen,” Trump said.
Trump’s remarks came during an Oval Office meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Zelenskyy, who will visit with Mr. Trump and sign a rare earth mineral deal, has long sought membership in NATO for his country. This month, the Ukrainian leader said he would go so far as to leave office in exchange for peace or NATO membership.
Trump said Wednesday that he hopes to soon speak face to face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine that began when Moscow invaded in February 2022.
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The Republican president declined to detail what concessions he would ask the two sides to make, but he underscored his administration’s position that Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO, the Western military alliance, is not tenable.
“NATO, you can forget about it,” Trump said. “I think that’s probably the reason the whole thing started.”
Zelenskyy will visit the White House today to sign a long-sought minerals deal that will closely tie the two countries together for years to come.