Key Takeaways
- Donald Trump says NATO expansion to Russia’s border is ‘provocative’ and has always been off the table.
- Trump vowed not to put US troops on the ground in Ukraine if he returns to the White House.
- The possibility of Ukraine joining NATO remains a topic of debate, with President Biden expressing his support.
Washington: Former President Donald Trump said in an interview with the All-In podcast that the possibility of NATO expanding to Russia’s border has always been understood to be off the table and such rhetoric now is provocative.
“They don’t want to have it, it’s always been understood, and that’s even before Putin,” Trump said in the podcast that aired on Thursday. “It’s always been understood that was a no-no… that was very provocative, and now it’s even more provocative.”
Trump said that it’s understandable that Russia would be bothered by NATO troops on its border, adding that NATO’s eastward expansion is a key reason for the conflict and that President Biden’s rhetoric about envisioning Ukraine eventually joining NATO is even more provocative.
“Biden was saying all of the wrong things and one of the wrong things he was saying: ‘Ukraine will go into NATO,’…Biden, he was saying the opposite of what in my opinion you had to say…and he’s still saying it,” Trump said.
Trump made a key promise: no US troops on the ground in Ukraine if he returns to the White House.
