NATO cannot go against US will on Ukraine – former Polish PM to RT
NATO's stance on Ukraine's membership bid is ultimately determined by the US administration, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has told RT, apparently unaware that he was speaking to a journalist from the Russian channel banned in Poland since 2022.
Moscow has cited Kiev's NATO ambitions as one of the root causes of the ongoing conflict and has insisted on Ukraine's neutrality as a foundation for any settlement. Ukraine, meanwhile, has demanded a seat within the US-led military bloc as a security guarantee for ending the conflict.
On Friday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Bloomberg that Kiev's membership was off the table in the current peace process.
RT's Charlotte Dubinskij approached Morawiecki as he arrived in Romania later that day to ask about NATO's apparent U-turn on Ukraine's potential accession to the bloc. Seemingly unaware that he was speaking to a journalist from the Russian news channel his own government banned in 2022, the former Polish prime minister said the shift was a result of a change in US policy.
Reporter: 'Is this some sick joke, reversing decision [on Ukraine NATO membership] after thousands killed?''We have to be in alliance with US, without which there wouldn't be Ukraine' — Polish MP Morawiecki https://t.co/sgnQgv3yolpic.twitter.com/fGqQQexHWC
'The current reality is that President Trump and the current American administration [are] excluding the accession of Ukraine to NATO. This is probably why… Rutte echoed what the American administration is indicating,' Morawiecki explained.
The former prime minister added that he personally would still like to see Ukraine in the bloc, calling the country a 'kind of a buffer' between Russia and NATO members in Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland. However, he acknowledged that a 'common sense' approach would be to prioritize maintaining strong ties with Washington above all else.
According to Morawiecki, 'there would be no Ukraine' without US support, and any assistance from Washington would be 'critically important' for Kiev.
Most EU and NATO leaders – with the notable exceptions of Hungary's Viktor Orban and Slovakia's Robert Fico – have pushed for continued confrontation with Russia despite Washington advocating for a peace process.
European NATO countries have been supplying weapons to Kiev since the escalation of the conflict in 2022. Some bloc members, such as France and the UK, have floated the idea of deploying troops to Ukraine to monitor a truce.
Moscow has warned that any NATO troops deployed to Ukraine without a UN mandate would be considered legitimate targets.
Trump has pushed for a swift resolution to the conflict and has repeatedly stated that European nations should bear the primary responsibility for security guarantees to Kiev in the event of a peace settlement.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Russia Today
DOGE staff fear being axed by DOGE
US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff are concerned they could become the next targets of the cost-cutting drive they helped implement following a rift between President Donald Trump and DOGE's former head Elon Musk, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Launched by Trump to slash federal spending, DOGE has operated more like a private task force than a typical government agency. Under Musk's leadership, it has cut programs, scrapped grants, and terminated government jobs. The initiative also helped dismantle the Department of Education and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). However, DOGE's future was cast into doubt after Musk stepped down late last month, followed by a public feud with the president over a major tax-and-spending package. 'I worry with Elon gone, no one will join (DOGE), and it will just slowly fade away,' Sahil Lavingia, a former DOGE software engineer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, told the WSJ over the weekend. 'Working at DOGE felt like pushing a boulder up a mountain, and it'll just fall back down if the work doesn't continue,' he added. Musk's departure, along with the exit of close allies including Steve Davis, who managed DOGE's daily operations, has added to staff unease. Text groups among DOGE-affiliated employees reportedly lit up last week with concerns about potential layoffs as the Trump-Musk feud escalated. The dispute over Trump's 'Big Beautiful' fiscal bill turned ugly on Thursday, with both men trading jabs on social media. Trump said he was 'disappointed' in Musk, who in turn accused the president of 'ingratitude,' supported calls for his impeachment, and threatened to halt the US space program by grounding the Dragon spacecraft. Trump fired back, calling the billionaire 'crazy' and claiming Musk was angry because Trump 'took away his EV mandate.' The Tesla CEO responded with accusations linking Trump to deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but later deleted the post. 'It seems to me Elon thought he was co-president, and everyone except Elon knew that would never happen,' said Republican Senator Kevin Cramer. Now Musk's 'feelings seem hurt,' he added. Despite the fallout, the Trump administration maintains it supports DOGE, the WSJ wrote. White House spokesman Harrison Fields defended the program, saying Trump's 'success through DOGE is undisputed, and [the president's] work will continue to yield historic results.' DOGE claims to have saved an estimated $175 billion in taxpayer funds, though budget experts have reportedly questioned the figure.
Russia Today
6 hours ago
- Russia Today
Zelensky knows he's losing
Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky is well aware that he cannot win the conflict against Russia on his own and is trying to drag NATO into it, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, has said. Such developments could plunge the world into a new world war, he warned. Tuberville made his statements on John Catsimatidis's radio show 'Cats Roundtable' on WABC 770 AM on Sunday. According to the senator, the conflict between Moscow and Kiev is on the verge of spilling over to other nations and potentially involving the American military. There is 'no doubt' Zelensky is trying to lure NATO into the conflict, Tuberville said, adding that the Ukrainian leader understands 'he can't win this war on his own' and 'knows he is losing.' The senator also branded Zelensky a 'dictator,' who had 'created all the problems' and did not want to hold elections in Ukraine. 'He knew if he had an election, he would [have been] voted out,' the senator said. Instead, Zelensky is looking for ways to escalate the conflict, Tuberville believes. The senator particularly expressed concerns about Ukraine's recent attack on Russian military airfields. Ukrainian drones struck several Russian airbases in various parts of the country in late May. Ukrainian media claimed the strikes damaged or destroyed approximately 40 Russian military aircraft. Moscow stated that no planes were destroyed in the attacks. According to Tuberville, Zelensky 'just called his hand' with this attack and disrupted what 'was supposed to have been a peace day.' The senator was referring to a second round of negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, which took place in Istanbul. Kiev's attacks took place just a day before the talks. The world does not need such an escalation, Tuberville stated, adding that Russia and Ukraine, as well as the US and the EU need to 'pull together to get this thing over with.' Otherwise, 'it will be a disaster like… World War II,' he warned. US President Donald Trump has also said he 'didn't like' Kiev's strikes on Russia's airfields, and that Ukraine gave Moscow a reason to 'bomb the hell out of them.' Russia has repeatedly condemned Ukraine's continued drone strikes and acts of sabotage on Russian territory, claiming it undermines efforts to find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Russia Today
Ex-Ukraine PM predicts Zelensky will flee country
Vladimir Zelensky will resign and leave Ukraine, former Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov has predicted, citing what he described as a US-backed effort to remove the country's leader. In a post on Telegram on Sunday, Azarov suggested that the decision to remove Zelensky from power 'has already been made in the US' and that Washington has given the 'go-ahead' for his ouster. He wrote that although the Ukrainian leader has support in Europe, it is unlikely to change anything and will 'hardly help' him. Azarov, who served as prime minister under ousted President Viktor Yanukovich, predicted that Zelensky would eventually step down, given that his mandate officially expired last year. He would then be replaced by parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, who would serve as acting president and begin shaping 'a new political landscape' in Ukraine. 'I don't think Zelensky will remain in Ukraine after this,' Azarov said. 'He will request protection, most likely from special forces, but they will not make such sacrifices for him. The options for his future may vary,' he added. Last week, Azarov made a similar prediction and alleged that the United States had 'written off' Zelensky and was orchestrating a multi-stage process to force him out. He referred to the recent arrest of Leonid Mindich – described as a financial associate of both Zelensky and presidential chief of staff Andrey Yermak – as evidence of this effort. Azarov emphasized that the arrest was carried out not by the Prosecutor General's Office, but by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office – institutions he described as 'created by the US, staffed by the US, and reporting only to the Americans.' 'This is a serious signal that the process of removing Zelensky has begun,' Azarov wrote, suggesting that if Zelensky does not step down voluntarily, he will be 'forced out.' He also claimed that US auditors had recently arrived in Kiev to examine the use of American taxpayer funds – a move he attributed to instructions from the White House. Zelensky's five-year term officially expired on May 20, 2024, and no election has been held due to martial law, which has been repeatedly extended. Moscow maintains that Zelensky has no legitimacy as the leader of Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Russian government has said it is open to negotiating with the current Kiev administration but warned that Zelensky's status could be an obstacle to signing any peace agreement. Russian officials have raised concern that documents endorsed by an illegitimate president could be legally contested by his successor.
