Trump: “Crimea Won’t Return to Ukraine, NATO Membership Also Impossible”

In an interview with Fox News, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the return of Crimea to Ukraine is impossible, as is the country’s accession to NATO, Orda.kz reports.

Trump said France, Germany, and the United Kingdom want to place troops in Ukraine as part of new security guarantees, stressing, “They want troops on the ground,” adding that this would not be a “problem.” Russia has already stated that any NATO troops in Ukraine would be "unacceptable."

He clarified that no American soldiers would be deployed in Ukraine, though Washington could assist European allies with troop placement and provide air support.

The president claimed that Ukraine’s future depends on ending the conflict. “Ukraine will get its life back, and people will stop dying everywhere. And it will get a lot of land,” he said.

Trump argued Kyiv should not have confronted Russia in the first place, since Russia is a “powerful military power” and “you can’t challenge a country that is ten times bigger.”

At the same time, Trump emphasized he does not plan to participate in a possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He expressed hope that “Putin will behave well,” warning otherwise the situation could become “tough.” Trump also said he expects concessions from Kyiv:

The U.S. leader added that during a recent meeting with European leaders at the White House, he deliberately refrained from calling Putin in their presence, explaining that it would have been disrespectful to the Russian president.