US Defense Minister Beit Higseth says that returning to Ukraine borders before 2014 is unrealistic, and the Trump administration does not see NATO membership in Kiev as part of a solution to the war caused by Russia’s invasion.
Higseth said, at a meeting that included NATO members in Brussels, that the White House does not see NATO membership in Ukraine as a “realistic result of settling negotiations” to end the war.
Higseth said that the United States is still binding on “full stopping” of NATO and defensive partnership with Europe. The Pentagon President said that the security guarantees of Ukraine should be supported by “European and non -European forces.”
He said, referring to the mutual defense item in the coalition: “If these forces are deployed as peace protection in Ukraine at any time, it should be published as part of a non -NATO mission and should not be covered under Article 5,” in reference to the mutual defense clause of the coalition.
Soon after, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had “had a very lengthy and fruitful invitation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a wide range of topics, including war, Middle East and artificial intelligence. Trump was cautious with correspondents in his first month regarding whether he had had any talks with Putin.
Russian news agencies confirmed the conversation and said that Putin extended a call to Trump to come to Moscow for talks.
Trump said he was advancing members of the cabinet and other officials to start leading negotiations to search for an end to the war.
Trump is not yet believed to have spoken to Ukraine President Voludimir Zellinski yet on his return to the White House, although he said in his position on social media that he intends to talk to him soon regarding Putin’s conversation. Zelinski and other Ukrainian officials are expected to meet with the Trump administration members on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference later this week to discuss the war.
“They may be Russians one day”: Trump
Higseth said on Wednesday that returning to Ukraine borders before 2014 was unrealistic.
He added, “The pursuit of this imaginary goal will only lead to the prolongation of the war and cause more suffering,” he added.
In 2014, the conflict began in eastern Ukraine after a pro -Russian president was dropped in a field revolution in Ukraine. Soon Russia lost the Peninsula of the Peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine, and then supported the separatists supporting Russia in an armed rebellion against the Ukrainian forces in the East Dunbas region.
Higseth said that Ukraine “sovereign and prosperous” is still a priority, but Washington is facing “flagrant strategic facts”, such as US border security issues and the threats posed by China.
In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Trump does not seem to provide full support for future Ukraine sovereignty.
“They may cross a deal, or they may not justify a deal. They may be Russians one day, or they may not be Russian one day,” he said. Trump also said that the United States wants to reach rare Earth minerals in Ukraine for support.
At the campaign’s path last year, Trump was exposed to important military aid provided by the Joe Biden administration to Ukraine since the invasion of Russian forces in February 2022. The total may be estimated at $ 65 billion.
During his first term, Trump suggested to Zelinski in a phone call, the Ukrainian leader must cooperate in efforts to discredit Biden. American aid was delayed for Ukraine. The Democrats accountable for Trump on what they said was a supporter of the professionals, but Trump was later acquitted in the Senate, and avoided removing his position.
Matthew Miller, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the period of Biden State, has argued that by conducting the general statement on NATO membership in Ukraine, “the Trump administration just surrendered one of the main points of the leverage before the negotiations started.”
Russia rejects the idea of exchanging land
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia will never discuss commercial lands that it maintains for areas in the Russian West Corsec region held by Kiev, after the idea was publicly exposed by Zelinski.
Russia dominates less than 20 percent of Ukraine, or more than 112,000 square kilometers, while Ukraine controls about 450 square kilometers from the Korsk region, according to the open source battlefield maps.
In 2024, Russian forces gained a land in Ukraine as soon as possible since 2022, the year in which Russia has been invaded. But the Russian gains came at the expense of heavy losses, although they are not disclosed, in men and equipment.
In the face of exhaustion and North Korean forces, these soldiers who are fighting for Ukraine say the war must end. The CBC news team spoke to them before they returned to the confrontation line, in an attempt to hold the lands that were seized in the Russian Kursk region.
Zelinski told the Guardian newspaper that he had planned to provide Russia with a straight region exchange to help put an end to the war, including offering pockets from Ukraine’s Corsak.
“We will exchange one of the lands to another,” Zilinski said, adding that he does not know any part of the Russian lands that Ukraine will demand.
“I don’t know, we will see. But all our lands are important, there is no priority,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow categorically rejects all offers for trade.
“This is impossible,” he told reporters. “Russia has never discussed and will not discuss the exchange of its territory.”
A fatal attack in Kyiv
Amid diplomatic developments, Ukrainian officials said that Russian missiles before dawn in the Ukrainian capital resulted in the killing of at least one and four others, which raised several fires in the city with a population of three million.
The Air Force said that it had dropped six ballistic missiles launched in the attack. Of the 123 drones, the army dropped 71 years, and it is likely to use electronic measures against another 40.
Local officials said a night attack was damaged with critical infrastructure and two people were wounded in the northern region of Chernkif.
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