 "Not just minerals deal, here are Trump’s three conditions for restarting aid to Ukraine")
What will it take for US President Donald Trump to restart aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine?
According to reports, the much-anticipated minerals deal won’t be enough now.
Following the White House clash between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the US administration over the past days stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv as well as all military aid.
Now, NBC has reported, citing an administration official and another US official, that Trump has made clear to his aides that signing of the minerals deal won’t persuade him to offer relief to Ukraine.
What are Trump’s three conditions?
According to the report, Trump’s first condition is to sign the minerals deal as soon as possible but secondly, he also wants to see a change in Zelenskyy’s attitude toward peace.
During his White House meeting, Trump alleged that Zelenskyy was not ready for peace and his “hatred” for the Russian president was a major roadblock to peace.
“You see the hatred he’s got for Putin,” Trump said. “That’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate.”
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Trump said to Zelenskyy as the two leaders talked over each other.
According to officials cited by NBC, Trump wants Zelenskyy to consider giving up territory currently occupied by Russia to reach a peace agreement quickly.
Thirdly, Trump also wants to see Ukraine hold polls, which could possibly pave the way for a new leader to take the throne. As of now, elections have been paused owing to the war with Russia.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“As President Trump demonstrated by reading President Zelenskyy’s message at the joint session, the Ukrainians have made positive movement. With meetings in Saudi this coming week, we look forward to hearing more positive movement that will hopefully ultimately end this brutal war and bloodshed,” said White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes when asked about Trump’s requirements.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine following the decision by Washington to pause aid and intelligence sharing this week. Friday (March 7) marked one of the deadliest days for civilians this year.
However, American officials clarified that they are still providing defensive intelligence to Ukraine, specifically information that aids in self-defence against incoming attacks.
(With inputs from agencies)
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