Trump Rejects Zelensky's Caution about NATO
President Trump has rejected the Ukrainian leader's assertion that Moscow intends to initiate a full-scale war against NATO. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The Ukrainian president has accused Moscow of seeking a ceasefire solely as a pretext to attack the US-led military alliance.
US President Donald Trump has rejected Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s assertion that Russian President Vladimir Putin is looking for a temporary halt in the fighting with Ukraine in order to regroup and potentially launch a full-scale offensive against NATO.
Moscow has consistently dismissed the idea of a short-term truce, emphasizing the need for a permanent, legally binding agreement that addresses the underlying issues of the Ukraine conflict. Despite this, Zelensky maintains he knows “for sure” that Putin is seeking a pause to “prepare, train, take off some sanctions” before targeting not only Ukraine but also NATO countries.
“It can happen in summer, maybe in the beginning, maybe in the end of summer. I don’t know when he prepares it, but it will happen,” Zelensky stated in an NBC News interview on Saturday.
Trump, however, disagrees with Zelensky’s assessment, telling reporters on Sunday, “No, I don’t agree. Not even a little bit.” He argued that Putin’s true desire for Russia is to “stop fighting.”
“They’ve been fighting for a long time. They’ve done it before… They have a big, powerful machine. They defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon,” Trump elaborated. “But I think he would like to stop fighting.”
Trump also indicated that he anticipates meeting Putin in person “very soon,” following a “long and hard” phone conversation last week, which was their first known direct interaction since the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine in February 2022. He mentioned he had called Zelensky to “inform” him about their discussion, where the Ukrainian leader reportedly reaffirmed that Kyiv is open to seeking a resolution to the conflict.
Russia’s Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, stated that any future negotiations would need to consider Ukraine's lack of sovereignty, referencing the failed 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements. Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, similarly highlighted the collapse of the Minsk deal, asserting, “We are not gonna go down that path.”
NATO has long identified Russia as a direct threat, which has been used to justify the bloc’s existence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Western officials have frequently warned that if Moscow were to prevail in the Ukraine conflict, it might subsequently target other European nations.
Putin has dismissed the notion of a Russian assault on NATO as “nonsense,” asserting to US journalist Tucker Carlson last February that leaders of the bloc are trying to instill fear among their populations with a fabricated threat, but that “smart people understand perfectly well that this is a fake.”
Moscow continues to oppose Ukraine’s ambitions for NATO membership, regarding the alliance's eastward expansion as a threat to its national security and a key contributor to the ongoing conflict with Kyiv.
During the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky remarked that “right now the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin because he seems able to block NATO decisions.”
Trump has signaled that Washington will not endorse Kyiv’s accession to NATO as part of any potential peace agreement with Moscow, with his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, labeling Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as “unrealistic.”
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
US President Donald Trump has rejected Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s assertion that Russian President Vladimir Putin is looking for a temporary halt in the fighting with Ukraine in order to regroup and potentially launch a full-scale offensive against NATO.
Moscow has consistently dismissed the idea of a short-term truce, emphasizing the need for a permanent, legally binding agreement that addresses the underlying issues of the Ukraine conflict. Despite this, Zelensky maintains he knows “for sure” that Putin is seeking a pause to “prepare, train, take off some sanctions” before targeting not only Ukraine but also NATO countries.
“It can happen in summer, maybe in the beginning, maybe in the end of summer. I don’t know when he prepares it, but it will happen,” Zelensky stated in an NBC News interview on Saturday.
Trump, however, disagrees with Zelensky’s assessment, telling reporters on Sunday, “No, I don’t agree. Not even a little bit.” He argued that Putin’s true desire for Russia is to “stop fighting.”
“They’ve been fighting for a long time. They’ve done it before… They have a big, powerful machine. They defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon,” Trump elaborated. “But I think he would like to stop fighting.”
Trump also indicated that he anticipates meeting Putin in person “very soon,” following a “long and hard” phone conversation last week, which was their first known direct interaction since the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine in February 2022. He mentioned he had called Zelensky to “inform” him about their discussion, where the Ukrainian leader reportedly reaffirmed that Kyiv is open to seeking a resolution to the conflict.
Russia’s Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, stated that any future negotiations would need to consider Ukraine's lack of sovereignty, referencing the failed 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements. Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, similarly highlighted the collapse of the Minsk deal, asserting, “We are not gonna go down that path.”
NATO has long identified Russia as a direct threat, which has been used to justify the bloc’s existence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Western officials have frequently warned that if Moscow were to prevail in the Ukraine conflict, it might subsequently target other European nations.
Putin has dismissed the notion of a Russian assault on NATO as “nonsense,” asserting to US journalist Tucker Carlson last February that leaders of the bloc are trying to instill fear among their populations with a fabricated threat, but that “smart people understand perfectly well that this is a fake.”
Moscow continues to oppose Ukraine’s ambitions for NATO membership, regarding the alliance's eastward expansion as a threat to its national security and a key contributor to the ongoing conflict with Kyiv.
During the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky remarked that “right now the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin because he seems able to block NATO decisions.”
Trump has signaled that Washington will not endorse Kyiv’s accession to NATO as part of any potential peace agreement with Moscow, with his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, labeling Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as “unrealistic.”
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
