Ukraine & NATO / Jurta, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – While hosting the first Cabinet meeting since his recent inauguration, U.S. President Donald J. Trump said Wednesday that war-torn Ukraine “could forget about” joining the NATO military alliance.
“NATO, you can forget about it,” was Trump’s message to Ukraine. “I think that’s probably the reason the whole thing started,” he added, referring to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
It was a setback for President Zelenskyy, who had even said he was prepared “to resign” if that led to Ukraine joining NATO.
Trump spoke to reporters in the White House Cabinet Room as he prepared to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The U.S. president also revealed he wants to soon speak face-to-face with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in hopes of ending the war that broke out when Russian forces entered Ukraine in February 2022.
The Republican declined to detail what more concessions he would ask the two sides to make beyond Ukraine, such as not joining NATO and giving up at least some territories.
Additionally, Trump confirmed reporting by Worthy News that a rare earth minerals deal with Kyiv would not include specific U.S. security guarantees to Ukraine.
MAJOR DEAL
The conclusion of a deal, which Trump claimed would help the U.S. recoup “hundreds of billions of dollars” it spent on military aid to Kyiv, followed days of intense negotiations.
Officials said the signing ceremony is due as early as Friday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Washington.
Public details are in short supply, but sources say the agreement will establish a joint fund between the U.S. and Ukraine that would receive revenues from mining rare earth metals and other precious minerals in Ukraine.
Worthy News learned that the fund would also manage oil and natural gas revenues.
However, the Ukrainian leader said that while visiting the White House on Friday, he would be “very direct” in asking whether the US would continue supporting Ukraine. “If we don’t get security guarantees, we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing,” he added.
Zelenskyy’s comments came as Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed Moscow’s rejection of the idea of European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, contradicting Trump’s claims this week that Putin agreed with the plan.
“Trump said that a decision on the deployment of peacekeeping forces would only be possible with the consent of both sides, apparently referring to us and Ukraine. Nobody has asked us about this,” Lavrov told media.
LONDON GATHERING
European leaders to meet in London on Sunday to discuss defense and security issues, including a proposal to deploy European troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire is reached
Under one of the proposals, supported by Britain and France, some 30,000 European troops would be on the ground in Ukraine, away from the frontline at key infrastructure sites such as nuclear power plants, backed by Western air and sea power.
Lavrov said the peacekeeping plans from London and Paris were a “deceit” to “pump Ukraine full of more weapons.”
He complained that such a scenario would draw Ukraine into NATO’s orbit and infringe on the rights of Russian speakers.
On Thursday, Russian and U.S. diplomats will meet in Istanbul, Turkey, to discuss improving diplomatic relations, officials announced.
It will mark the second week of meetings between Washington and Moscow, following last week’s discussions in Saudi Arabia, which aimed to reset relations between the two nuclear powers.
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