US leader Donald Trump immediately refused to discuss Ukraine's accession to NATO, even though he could have used the issue during full-fledged negotiations with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's team. Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called it a major "negotiating mistake" by the White House.
Points of attention
- Ukraine must actively fight for NATO membership.
- Postponing the discussion of Ukraine's accession to NATO has already led to a loss of leverage in negotiations with Russia.
Trump did not calculate all the steps to maximize pressure on Russia
According to Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine must fight to the last for its membership in the Alliance, since politics is the art of the possible.
You just have to play the long game and if you give something away, it will be at a high price. I just don't see why you can sell the NATO issue from the point of view of benefit for Ukraine.
Dmytro Kuleba
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
That is why, according to the Ukrainian diplomat, Trump and his team made a big "negotiating mistake" by immediately declaring that Ukraine's accession to NATO would have to be postponed.
According to Dmytro Kuleba, even if a decision had been made to remove the NATO topic from the discussion, at least it could have been "sold" to Putin.
But instead of selling it for something, they have essentially already started saying that it will have to be postponed. So why does Putin need to pay you anything if he already knows that you have already handed it over. Therefore, this is a purely negotiating mistake and, unfortunately, it will cost us dearly, — warned the former minister.
