 "'Something that causes our satisfaction': Kremlin on US stance ruling out Nato membership for Ukraine")
The Kremlin on Monday said it was pleased with the Trump administration’s stance on blocking Ukraine from joining Nato but declined to comment on Trump’s hopes for a deal this week.
On Sunday, US envoy General Keith Kellogg said that Nato membership for Ukraine is “off the table.”
Trump has repeatedly argued that past US support for Ukraine’s Nato ambitions contributed to the outbreak of the war.
“We have heard from Washington at various levels that Ukraine’s membership in Nato is excluded,” Reuters quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
“Of course, this is something that causes our satisfaction and coincides with our position,” he added.
Peskov said that Ukraine joining the US-led Nato alliance would “threaten the national interests of the Russian Federation,” calling it one of the fundamental causes of the ongoing conflict.
President Putin has consistently said that Russia would be open to ending the war if Ukraine formally abandoned its Nato aspirations and pulled its forces from all areas of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims and largely controls.
According to Reuters, Putin was ready to negotiate a deal with Trump in November, but would refuse to make major territorial concessions and would insist Kyiv abandon ambitions to join Nato.
Trump said on Sunday he hopes Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Asked about those remarks, Peskov said, “I don’t want to make any comments right now, especially about the time frame.”
“President Putin and the Russian side remain open to seeking a peaceful settlement. We are continuing to work with the American side and, of course, we hope that this work will yield results,” he added.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHe refused to comment directly on a Bloomberg report that the United States is prepared to recognise Russian control of Crimea as part of a broader peace agreement.
“Work on finding a peaceful settlement cannot take place, and should not take place, in public,” Peskov said. “It should take place in an absolutely discrete mode.”
With inputs from agencies
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