The elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, accused U.S. President Joe Biden of violating a "long-standing agreement" regarding the refusal to accept Ukraine into NATO. In his view, this was one of the reasons for the onset of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. This was reported by the Ukrainian service of "Voice of America," referencing Trump's press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on January 7.
Donald Trump stated that a significant part of the problem lies in the fact that Russia has long opposed Ukraine's membership in NATO, even "long before Putin."
“They talked about it as if it were some sort of established agreement. And somewhere along the way, Biden said, 'No, they should have the opportunity to join NATO.' So, Russia finds itself with someone right at the doorstep, and I can understand their feelings about it. When I heard Biden negotiating, I said: you will have a war. And it turned out to be a very bad war, it could escalate and become much worse than it is now,” said the elected American president, adding that he hopes to end the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war within six months.
When asked by a journalist if Ukraine would ever become a NATO member, Trump replied: “My view is that this has always been clear. I think they had an agreement, but Biden broke it. An agreement that would have been very satisfactory for Ukraine and for everyone else, but Biden said they should have the opportunity to join NATO.”
Donald Trump also noted that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin allegedly would like to meet with the elected president before his inauguration on January 20. However, Trump does not consider such a meeting advisable.
By the way, on January 5, in an interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine could consider a ceasefire option if Western partners provide the necessary weapons for defense against a possible renewed attack and continue sanctions against Russia. Additionally, according to the president, Ukraine must have security guarantees for a ceasefire. Such guarantees could include NATO membership with the extension of the collective defense article to the non-occupied territories of Ukraine.