'Ukraine can forget about joining NATO, will try to get its land back’, says Donald Trump

President Donald Trump has put his weight behind Russia's attempt to block Ukraine's NATO membership, saying Kyiv could "forget about” joining the military alliance as he prepares to host President Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday.

Donald Trump, who has been trying to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, has also said that he would try to get Ukraine as much land as possible from Russia.

Russia is currently occupying Crimea and vast areas of eastern Ukraine, totaling about 20 per cent of the country.

Donald Trump also said that he hopes to soon speak face to face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine that began when Moscow invaded in February 2022.

“NATO, you can forget about it,” Donald Trump said. “I think that's probably the reason the whole thing started.”

“We’re going to do the best we can to make the best deal we can for both sides, but for Ukraine, we’re going to try very hard to make a good deal so that they can get as much back as possible. We want to get as much back as possible,” he said.

Zelensky, on the other hands, has said that he's willing to give up presidency if Ukraine is allowed to join NATO.

About NATO

NATO - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - was formed in 1949 by 12 countries. The original members of NATO are: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK and the US.

Later, some more countries joined NATO, taking it to 32 members. They are: Greece and Turkey (1952); West Germany (1955; from 1990 as Germany); Spain (1982); the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (1999); Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (2004); Albania and Croatia (2009); Montenegro (2017); North Macedonia (2020); Finland (2023); and Sweden (2024).