Zelenskyy’s office responds to Trump’s advice to 'forget about NATO'
Photo: Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Ukrainian President's Office (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
In Ukraine, there is disagreement with the statement made by US President Donald Trump, who suggested that the country should forget about joining NATO. The alliance is certainly not the reason for Russia's invasion, says Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, in a comment for the RBC-Ukraine.
"Firstly, NATO is definitely not the reason for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This needs to be constantly repeated and emphasized because this is what Russia is selling: 'We came to kill them back in 2014 when NATO wasn’t even close, but it’s because NATO could have been there at some point.' This is absolutely a propaganda tactic used to justify their genocidal intentions toward Ukraine," Podolyak said.
He added that NATO, as a concept, will still be on the table. Ukraine will insist that it is the simplest and cheapest way to provide security guarantees for the country.
"But if we get the full package of security guarantees — substantial ones, including missile defense, missile bases, army upgrades, a peacekeeping contingent with the proper coverage — that’s a good package. Europe will still come to the concept of creating, perhaps, what might initially be called a European section of NATO, where they will reinvest more in their own defense," the advisor said.
Podolyak also mentioned that there is promising information about one of the new negotiation tracks in Europe — the creation of a European army rearmament bank.
"Britain can join this bank and create, I emphasize again, a European defense alliance. Given that Europe currently has no army comparable in terms of combat experience and understanding of modern warfare, Ukrainian forces could certainly become the basis of the so-called expeditionary corps, which could replace American expeditionary forces in Europe. This is great and precisely the subject of a very productive dialogue," Podolyak noted.
Trump's statement about Ukraine's NATO membership
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine should forget about joining NATO, as it was likely the country’s desire to join the alliance that prompted Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to start the war.
"You can forget about it. That's probably the reason the whole thing (the war in Ukraine — ed.) started," Trump said.
