The US should not have made concessions to Russia in advance of peace negotiations by ruling out Nato membership for Ukraine and accepting the country would have to forfeit some of its territory, Germany’s defence minister said on Thursday.
“There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine,” he said, adding it was “our job as defence ministers here at Nato, to put them in the best position to secure a lasting peace through strength”.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said that Nato membership remained a strategic objective for Kyiv as the cheapest way for the alliance to guarantee its own security, though it has long been opposed by Russia.
On Wednesday, Trump said he had spoken to Putin for over an hour and the two countries would begin negotiations to try to end the Ukraine war.
Hegseth’s statement on Wednesday that the “US does not believe Nato membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome” as part of a peace deal appears to amount to effective veto on Kyiv joining.
