Kremlin says U.S. position ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine gives satisfaction
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The Kremlin has expressed approval of the U.S. Trump administration’s stance against NATO membership for Ukraine, saying it aligned with Russia’s own position. However, it refrained from commenting on former President Donald Trump’s hopes for a peace agreement this week.
Trump, aiming to be seen as a broker of peace, has frequently emphasized his desire to end the ongoing war in Ukraine — a conflict his administration describes as a proxy battle between Washington and Moscow.
U.S. envoy General Keith Kellogg stated on Sunday that NATO membership for Ukraine was “off the table.” Trump has previously claimed that past American support for Ukraine joining NATO played a role in sparking the war.
“We have received signals from Washington at various levels indicating that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not being considered,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “Naturally, this brings us a sense of satisfaction, as it aligns with our perspective.”
Peskov added that Ukraine joining the Western military alliance would pose a threat to Russia’s strategic interests, calling it one of the fundamental causes of the conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, triggering the most severe crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War era.
In contrast, former U.S. President Joe Biden, along with European leaders and Ukrainian officials, have portrayed Russia’s actions as a blatant territorial grab reminiscent of imperial expansion — vowing repeatedly to defeat Russian forces.
Putin, however, has characterized the war as a defining moment in Russia’s relationship with the West. He claims NATO’s eastward expansion after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 marginalized Russia and encroached on its sphere of influence.
At the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008, alliance leaders declared that Ukraine and Georgia would eventually become members. Ukraine cemented this goal in 2019 by amending its constitution to pursue NATO and EU membership.
