“Unrealistic” says Higseth, a return to Ukraine’s borders for Ukraine for the year 2014.

US Defense Secretary, Beit Higseth, said that it is “unrealistic” to expect Ukraine to return to its borders before 2014, when Russia took control of the Crimea.

Speaking at a meeting of the Defense Communication Group in Ukraine in Brussels, Higseth said it would be possible to create a “solid peace” with a “realistic assessment of the battlefield”.

The US Secretary of Defense also reduced Ukraine’s suggestions to join NATO and ruled out the deployment of American forces to Ukraine under any future security arrangements.

Kyiv has repeatedly called for NATO membership and in the past rejected the assignment area as part of a peace deal.

“We want, like you, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine, said Higseth, who was appointed by the Minister of Defense after Donald Trump returned to the US presidency in January, told more than 40 countries allied with Ukraine.

“But we must start by realizing that returning to the borders of Ukraine before 2014 is an unrealistic goal.

“The pursuit of this imaginary goal will only lead to the prolongation of the war and cause more suffering.”

Russia joined the Crimea Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014, then supported the separatists supporting Russia in an armed rebellion against Kiev’s forces in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow is currently controlling about five Ukraine lands, especially in the east and south.

Higseth said that any solid peace should include “strong security guarantees to ensure that the war will not start again.”

However, he said, “The United States does not believe that NATO membership in Ukraine is a realistic result of the settlement of negotiation.”

Instead, security guarantees must support “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.

Trump has constantly said his priority is to end the war, which began with Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He also criticizes us spending on military aid to Kiev.