'No going into Nato by Ukraine,' says Trump as Zelensky prepares for White House talks
Hours before he was due to host Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Trump also said there would be "no getting back" of the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, eight years before launching its full-scale invasion.
It follows Trump's summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska that resulted in the US president dropping a demand for a ceasefire and calling instead for a permanent peace deal.
A US envoy said on Sunday that Putin had agreed to a possible Nato-like security pact for Ukraine.
The Russian president has consistently opposed the idea of Ukraine joining the military alliance.
Posting on his Truth Social platform on Sunday night, Trump said: "President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.
"Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!" Trump added.
Before Trump's return to power in January, Nato countries agreed on Kyiv's "irreversible path" to membership in the alliance.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, alongside European leaders including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, will join Zelensky in Washington for talks on Ukraine's future on Monday.
Also attending are French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It is unclear how many of them will go to the White House.
Trump later added: "Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honor to host them!!!"
For so many heads of state to travel with such little notice across the Atlantic to what is essentially a wartime crisis meeting appears without precedent in the modern era, underscoring the sky-high stakes.
Diplomatic sources say European officials are concerned that Trump may try to press Zelensky to agree to terms, after the Ukrainian leader was excluded from the Trump-Putin meeting on US soil last Friday.
But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the BBC's US partner CBS that any suggestion Zelensky might be bullied by Trump into accepting a peace deal was a "stupid media narrative".
Nato leaders also appear eager to avoid a repeat of Zelensky's February trip to the Oval Office that ended abruptly after an argument with Trump and US Vice-President JD Vance.
The altercation — which saw Trump accuse Zelensky of "gambling with World War Three" — left Washington-Kyiv ties in tatters.
But European leaders have been working diligently behind the scenes since then to mend the relationship. The Ukrainian leader has been coached to talk in terms of deal-making — language that resonates with Trump.
In April, Ukraine signed a minerals agreement that gave the US a financial stake in the country, and Trump and Zelensky spoke privately at the Vatican before Pope Francis's funeral. Ukraine made clear it was willing to pay for US weapons.
By July, the two leaders had a phone call that the Ukrainian president described as "the best conversation we have had".
Meanwhile, Trump had begun to express exasperation with Russia's unrelenting onslaught in Ukraine. He called Putin "absolutely crazy", drastically shortened his deadline for a peace deal, and threatened economic sanctions on Moscow.
As these deliberations grind on, Russian forces continue to advance on the battlefield. They now occupy almost a fifth of Ukraine since Moscow launched its full scale invasion in February 2022. — BBC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Former CIA director Burns calls Trump firings of US workers ‘a war on...expertise'
William Burns, former CIA director and veteran US diplomat, on Wednesday issued a scathing rebuke of the Trump administration's mass firings of federal workers, saying they are aimed at stifling dissenting views and will harm US security. 'Under the guise of reform, you all got caught in the crossfire of a retribution campaign - of a war on public service and expertise,' Burns wrote in a 'Letter to America's Discarded Public Servants' published in The Atlantic magazine. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Burns was CIA director under Democratic former President Joe Biden, and a foreign service officer. He served three Democratic and three Republican presidents. His career included stints as US ambassador to Russia and deputy secretary of State. Taking aim at US President Donald Trump's sweeping purge of federal workers, including State Department staff and US intelligence officers, Burns said that civil servants recognize the need for serious government reforms. 'But there is a smart way and a dumb way to tackle reform, a humane way and an intentionally traumatizing way,' he said. 'This is not about reform. It's about retribution. It's about breaking people and breaking institutions by sowing fear and mistrust throughout our government.' 'That's what autocrats do,' Burns said. 'They cow public servants into submission, and in doing so, they create a closed system that is free of opposing views and inconvenient concerns.' Burns cited Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'foolish decision' to launch his February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine as an example of how an absence of dissenting policy views led to 'catastrophic' results for the Kremlin. The threat to the US 'is not from an imaginary 'deep state' bent on' undermining Trump, he wrote, but 'a weak longer able to uphold the guardrails of our democracy or help the United States compete in an unforgiving world.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
7 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
NATO Defense Chiefs Hold Virtual Meeting on Ukraine Security Guarantees
NATO defense chiefs were due to hold a virtual meeting Wednesday, a senior alliance official said, as countries pushing for an end to Russia's war on Ukraine devise possible future security guarantees for Kyiv that could help forge a peace agreement. Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of NATO's Military Committee, said that 32 defense chiefs from across the alliance would hold a video conference as a US-led diplomatic push seeks to end the fighting, The AP news reported. US Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, will take part in the talks, Dragone said on social platform X. US President Donald Trump met last Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and on Monday hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and prominent European leaders at the White House. Neither meeting delivered concrete progress. Trump is trying to steer Putin and Zelenskyy toward a settlement more than three years after Russia invaded its neighbor, but there are major obstacles. They include Ukraine's demands for Western-backed military assurances to ensure Russia won't mount another invasion in coming years. 'We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly secure and lasting peace,' Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post Wednesday after Russian missile and drone strikes hit six regions of Ukraine overnight. Kyiv's European allies are looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement, and a coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, have signed up to support the initiative. Military chiefs are figuring out how that security force might work. The role that the US might play in is unclear. Trump on Tuesday ruled out sending US troops to help defend Ukraine against Russia. Russia has repeatedly said that it would not accept NATO troops in Ukraine. Attacks on civilian areas in Sumy and Odesa overnight into Wednesday injured 15 people, including a family with three small children, Ukrainian authorities said. Zelenskyy said the strikes 'only confirm the need for pressure on Moscow, the need to introduce new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy works to its full potential.'
Saudi Gazette
8 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
US military vets are helping Afghans fight deportation
SAN DIEGO – As a journalist in Afghanistan, Abdul says he helped promote American values like democracy and freedom. That work, he said, resulted in him being tortured by the Taliban after the US withdrew from the country in 2021. Now he's in California applying for political asylum, amid the looming threat of deportation. "We trusted those values," he said. "We came here for safety, and we don't have it, unfortunately." But when Abdul walked into a San Diego court to plead his case, he wasn't alone. Ten veterans showed up for his hearing – unarmed, but dressed in hats and shirts to signify their military credentials as a "show of force", said Shawn VanDiver, a US Navy vet who founded 'Battle Buddies' to support Afghan refugees facing deportation. "Masked agents of the federal government are snatching up our friends, people who took life in our name and have done nothing wrong," he said. Approximately 200,000 Afghans relocated to the US after Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, as the US left the country in chaos after two decades fighting the war on terror. Many say they quickly felt embraced by Americans, who recognised the sacrifices they had made to help the US military and fight for human rights. But since the Trump administration has terminated many of the programmes which protected them from deportation, Afghans now fear they will be deported and returned to their home country, which is now controlled by the Taliban. VanDiver, who also founded #AfghanEvac in 2021 to help allies escape the Taliban when the US withdrew, said US military veterans owe it to their wartime allies to try and protect them from being swept up in President Trump's immigration raids. "This is wrong." The Battle Buddies say they have a moral and legal obligation to stand and support Afghans. They now have more than 900 veteran volunteers across the country. Many of the federal agents working for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are veterans themselves, he said, and the Battle Buddies think their presence alone might help deter agents from detaining a wartime ally. "Remember, don't fight ICE," VanDiver told his fellow Battle Buddies outside court before Abdul's hearing, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. "If somebody does fight ICE, capture it on video. Those are the two rules." As Abdul and his lawyer went into court, the veterans stood in the corridor outside in a quiet and tense faceoff with half a dozen masked federal agents. It was the same hallway where an Afghan man, Sayed Naser, a translator who says he worked for the US military, was detained 12 June. "This individual was an important part of our Company commitment to provide the best possible service for our clients, who were the United States Military in Afghanistan," says one employment document submitted as part of Naser's asylum application and reviewed by the BBC's news partner in the US, CBS News. "I have all the documents," Naser told the agents as he was handcuffed and taken away, which a bystander captured on video. "I worked with the US military. Just tell them." Naser has been in detention since that day, fighting for political asylum from behind bars. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the BBC that there is nothing in his immigration records "indicating that he assisted the US government in any capacity". Whichever way Naser's case is decided, his detention is what inspired veterans to form the Battle Buddies. They say abandoning their wartime allies will hurt US national security because the US will struggle to recruit allies in the future. "It's short sighted to think we can do this and not lose our credibility," said Monique Labarre, a US Army veteran who showed up for Abdul's hearing. "These people are vetted. They put themselves at substantial risk by supporting the US government." President Trump has repeatedly blamed President Biden for a "disgraceful" and "humiliating" retreat from the country. But the US's withdrawal from Afghanistan was initially brokered by President Trump during his first term. In their wake, American troops left behind a power vacuum that was swiftly and easily filled by the Taliban, who took control of the capital city, Kabul, in August 2021. Afghans, many who worked with the US military and NGOs, frantically swarmed the airport, desperate to get on flights along with thousands of US citizens. Over the ensuing years, almost 200,000 Afghans would relocate to the US – some under special programmes designed for those most at risk of Taliban retribution. The Trump administration has since ended this programme, called Operation Enduring Welcome. It also ended the temporary protections which shielded some Afghans, as well as asylum seekers from several other countries, from deportation because of security concerns back home. "Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilising economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement about terminating Temporary Protected Status for Afghans. She added that some Afghans brought in under these programmes "have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security". Afghans in the United States scoff at the suggestion that they'd be safe going back, saying their lives would be in danger. "I couldn't work," said Sofia, an Afghan woman living in Virginia. "My daughters couldn't go to school." With the removal of temporary protected status, the Trump administration could deport people back to Afghanistan. Although that is so far rare, some Afghans have already begun to be deported to third countries, including Panama and Costa Rica. Sofia and other members of her family were among the thousands of Afghans who received emails in April from the Department of Homeland Security saying: "It is time for you to leave the United States." The email, which was sent to people with a variety of different kinds of visas, said their parole would expire in 7 days. Sofia panicked. Where would she go? She did not leave the United States, and her asylum case is still pending. But the letter sent shockwaves of fear throughout the Afghan community. When asked about protecting Afghan wartime allies on 30 July, President Trump said: "We know the good ones and we know the ones that maybe aren't so good, you know some came over that aren't so good. And we're going to take care of those people – the ones that did a job." Advocates have urged the Trump administration to restore temporary protected status for Afghans, saying women and children could face particular harm under the Taliban-led government. Advocates are hopeful that Naser will soon be released. They say he passed a "credible fear" screening while in detention, which can allow him to pursue political asylum because he fears persecution or torture if returned to Afghanistan. The Battle Buddies say they plan to keep showing up for wartime allies at court. It's not clear if their presence made a difference at Abdul's hearing – but he wasn't detained and is now a step closer to the political asylum he says he was promised. "It's a relief," he said outside court while thanking the US veterans for standing with him. But he said he still fears being detained by ICE, and he worries that the US values he believed in, and was tortured for, might be eroded. "In Afghanistan, we were scared of the Taliban," he said. "We have the same feeling here from ICE detention." – BBC
