13-2-2025 (WASHINGTON) Former US President Donald Trump expressed scepticism about Ukraine’s potential NATO membership and its ability to reclaim all occupied territories during a series of high-level diplomatic calls on Wednesday.
In what marks his most substantial diplomatic engagement with the ongoing conflict, Trump held separate telephone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, discussing the war that has ravaged Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Speaking to reporters following the calls, Trump revealed that his conversation with Putin, which stretched beyond an hour, was “good”. He also announced plans for a future face-to-face meeting with the Russian leader, likely to take place in Saudi Arabia, though the Kremlin later indicated that Putin had extended an invitation for Trump to visit Moscow instead.
According to Ukrainian officials, Trump’s discussion with Zelenskyy also lasted approximately an hour, while the Kremlin reported that Putin’s conversation with the former US president extended to nearly 90 minutes.
Diplomatic sources suggest that alternative venues for a potential Trump-Putin summit could include the United Arab Emirates, though no final decision has been confirmed.
The former president’s stance on Ukraine’s NATO aspirations represents a significant departure from current Western policy. Trump explicitly stated he believed Ukraine’s NATO membership was impractical, whilst also expressing doubt about the country’s capacity to regain all its territories, including Crimea, which Russia forcibly annexed in 2014.
