Trump says Ukraine can forget about NATO

US President Donald Trump has said that Ukraine will have to give up its NATO membership following the results of the agreement to end the war. He also noted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would also have to make concessions. He said this during a meeting of the US Cabinet of Ministers on 26 February.

He said that Ukraine's desire to become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance was the reason why Russia invaded Ukraine.

"I can say one thing - you can forget about NATO. I think this is the reason why all this probably started," he said.

At the same time, he added that the US will try to conclude for Ukraine "a good agreement that will help it regain as much territory as possible." At the same time, the US president noted that Russia will also have to make concessions,

"Yes, he will make concessions," Trump said, but did not specify which ones and said he "doesn't want to talk about that right now."

During the speech, he called Putin "a very smart and cunning man who was not going to end the war." He also reiterated that he plans to meet with Putin soon and hopes to negotiate an end to the war.

According to Trump, if he had not been elected president, Russia would have continued fighting until Ukraine was completely absorbed.