Trump does not believe that Ukraine “can never join -NATO”

United States President Donald Trump said he did not foresee Ukraine to join NATO in the future, reiterating the position of his administration that Kyiv resigns from his hopes of joining the Military Alliance.

“I don’t think they can never join -NATO,” Trump said in an interview with Time Magazine published on Friday, blaming Kiev’s aspirations for Russia’s invasion.

“I think it has been, from day one, I think it has been, I think that what made the war start was when they started talking to join -if it did not occur, there would have been a much better possibility that would not have begun,” said Trump.

Trump’s comments are from pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to accept a peace agreement that critics say that he favors the Russian leader Vladimir Putin to try to fulfill a 2024 campaign promise to end the war quickly.

The claims of the President of the United States Russia began the war due to the Ukraine Plan to unite -the NATO echo the justification of the Kremlin for its invasion. But Ukraine’s aspiration to join -NATO was rejected in 2008 when a summit of the Alliance in Bucharest, Romania, refused to provide the country with a member action plan.

During the campaign, Trump repeatedly said that he would be able to agree at the beginning of his term, citing his relationship with Putin.

“I said figuratively and said that as an exaggeration, because to make a point,” Trump said when he asked him about his claims that he could end the war on the first day. “Obviously, people know that when I said that, they were jokingly said, but they also said that it will end.”

Trump has said he is willing to leave peace conversations if there is no sign of progress. At a meeting in Paris last week, the United States presented Ukrainian and European officials with a proposal to end the war that would effectively freeze the conflict on the existing battle lines.

The United States is also ready to recognize Russia’s control over Crimea as part of an agreement, Bloomberg previously reported.

The freezing of the conflict would be a sacrifice for Ukraine, which has been trying to recover the whole territory in the south and the east of the country since 2014 since 2014, including Crimea, and after the full -scale invasion of Putin in 2022.

“Well, Crimea went to the Russians. It was delivered by Barack Hussein Obama, and not for me,” Trump said when he asked if Russia should keep this territory.

“That said, they will be able to recover -they have had their Russians. They have had their submarines long before any period we are talking about, for many years. People speak largely Russian in Crimea. But this was given by Obama. This was not given by Trump.”

Asked if he would accept an agreement in which Crimea and other regions that Putin has taken from Ukraine folded in Russia, Trump said: “Crimea will remain with Russia.” Adding Zelenskiy, “understands it.”

Crimea was illegally requisitioned by Russia in 2014 in violation of international law.

Trump has expressed frustration by the rhythm of efforts to end the war, in particular with Zelenskiy, who started the Ukrainian leader in a social media place on Wednesday to say that his country would not recognize Russian sovereignty on Crimea and that he would go against the Ukrainian Constitution.

These comments have intensified the concerns in Kiev and his allies that the Hurry of the President of the United States will sacrifice European collective security.

The President of the United States also criticized Putin after Russia launched a massive missile strike and Drone in Kyiv, calling “not necessary and bad”, in a place on his social media platform on Thursday. He urged Putin to “stop!”

This story originally presented to Fortune.com

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