Trump says Ukraine can ‘forget about’ joining NATO

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00:00While Ukraine says it's set to approve a framework minerals deal with the US, but that its success

00:05would depend on talks with Donald Trump, the accord under which Kiev would hand some revenue

00:11from its mineral resources to a fund jointly controlled by Washington is central to Ukrainian

00:16attempts to win strong support from Trump as he seeks a swift end to the war with Russia.

00:22Well, let's get some of his latest remarks from the US president on that minerals deal.

00:29I can tell you that NATO you can forget about.

00:34I think that's probably the reason the whole thing started.

00:38And I think, J.D., we can say that.

00:40Do you have a statement on that?

00:42You've been very much involved.

00:43I gave him the beauty.

00:46With more on those remarks, here's our Washington correspondent, Fraser Jackson.

00:54In Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting, one of the hot topics of discussion was not the

00:58United States, but the war in Ukraine.

01:01Donald Trump, for the first time, saying that Vladimir Putin will have to make concessions.

01:05Now, he wouldn't posit on what those concessions would be, but he said that Ukraine could forget

01:10about NATO membership, a line that he has spoken about in the past and something which

01:14is arguably the biggest thing that Vladimir Putin wants.

01:18It's also something that the European leaders that I'm talking to also wants.

01:23One of the things that they are pushing for is NATO membership for Ukraine, but so far

01:28some daylight between them and the Americans on that so far.

01:32Trump did say he's going to try to get as much of Ukraine's territory back as possible.

01:36He said, we're going to do the best we can to make the best deal we can for both sides.

01:41But for Ukraine, we're going to try very hard to make a good deal so they can get this back

01:44as much as possible.

01:46We want to get as much back as possible.

01:49One thing that the Ukrainians are asking for is a security guarantee from the United States

01:53that so far has yet to materialize.

01:56Trump wouldn't comment on that at that cabinet meeting.

02:00He said the U.S. needs to make a peace first before they can talk about peacekeepers.

02:04But it is understood that there will be some kind of U.S. backstop which would provide

02:08some kind of security for the Ukrainians.

02:11Donald Trump himself hinting at that, saying that the very presence of Americans inside

02:16Ukraine once a mineral deal is signed would provide some security.

02:20He said it's a great deal for Ukraine because they get us over there.

02:23We're going to be working over there.

02:24We'll be on the land.

02:26And in that way, that's some kind of automatic security.

02:29He said nobody's going to be messing around with our people when we're there.

02:34But he also said that Volodymyr Zelensky will be coming to the White House on Friday to

02:38sign that mineral deal.

02:40So far, no official confirmation from the Ukrainians that they will sign the big scope

02:45of the deal.

02:46They say they've agreed to a framework.

02:48But there are still some gaps that remain, especially around that security guarantee

02:52that the Ukrainians need so that the Russians don't commit more attacks in the months and

02:58years to follow.

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