Trump: "Ukraine will never join NATO"
US President Trump said on December 9 in an interview with Politico that Ukraine joining NATO "has never been seriously considered" - and people knew this long before Putin.
"It has long been an open secret that Ukraine will not join NATO. Frankly, it has been this way even before Putin. Now they are insisting on joining. When Zelenskyy first met Putin, he said: 'I want two things: one is to recover Crimea, and the other is to join NATO.' He didn't hold back. You know, he's very good at promoting himself," said the US president.
Trump's peace plan requires Ukraine to abandon its efforts to join NATO - a condition that Kyiv considers unacceptable.
Comment: Trump's statement that "Ukraine will never join NATO" directly exposes the long-standing "NATO entry promise" and clearly signals his strategic withdrawal - essentially putting Ukraine's security demands behind America's priority of "ending the conflict as soon as possible."
This statement accurately hits the core issue of the conflict: NATO promised "eventual accession" in 2008, but has never fulfilled it. Now Trump has simply torn off the veil, while Ukraine has already enshrined joining NATO in its constitution. This "promise cancellation" and "legal binding" opposition further narrows the space for peace talks.
Behind it lies an implicit alignment of US and Russian strategic interests: Trump wants to end NATO's permanent expansion, while Putin has always viewed Ukraine joining NATO as a red line. This statement both caters to Russia's core concerns and reveals America's true attitude of no longer bearing unlimited responsibility for European security.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1851045918267399/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.