Egypt Daily News – The Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, said that the alliance never promised Ukraine its membership after the conflict ended and that negotiations should “focus on lasting peace.”
Rutte added on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday: “We are now mainly discussing the Ukrainian issue. We must ensure a better position for Kyiv before the start of negotiations in which it will participate.
This (the question of NATO membership and security guarantees) will be part of the peace agreement. We are discussing here the best way to ensure a sustainable and lasting peace, but Ukraine was never promised that this would be part of the agreement.”
Earlier, former US President Donald Trump said he did not object to statements by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Ukraine’s NATO membership was unlikely. Trump added that former President Joe Biden made a mistake when he said that Ukraine could join NATO, which ultimately led to an escalation of the conflict.
