New Delhi: Ukraine’s return to the border before 2014 before Russia’s annexation of Crimea was an “unrealistic goal” and “just extend the war” and “fantastic goal” That’s what the US Secretary of Defense declared on Wednesday with his first appearance. At a NATO meeting in Brussels.
“It is clear that President Trump has many leaders with the American people and their number one leader whose top priority is to stop the fighting and reach lasting peace. He has ended the war through diplomacy, and Russia and Ukraine. “We will lead both to the table,” Hegus said at a meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group in Brussels.
The US Secretary of Defense added: Like you, we want sovereignty and prosperous Ukraine, but we must start by realizing that returning to the Ukrainian border before 2014 is an unrealistic purpose . Chasing this fantastical goal only prolongs the war and causes more suffering. ”
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Hegseth went a step further, and Ukraine needed a “robust security guarantee” to prevent the war from starting again, but its NATO membership was in the “realistic outcome” of the negotiated peace settlement. He said that was not the case.
The US Secretary of Defense has provided the clearest roadmap for the new Trump administration’s thoughts on war in Ukraine. The third anniversary of the war, which saw thousands of Ukrainians and Russians die on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, will be the second half of this month.
The message from the US administration has been a disappointment for Kiev, who is pushing for a 10-point peace plan for negotiated settlements, including a return to the border before 2014 and membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Masu.
NATO, a 32-member military alliance, was established in 1949 under a collective defense clause. Since then, military alliances have been viewed as an umbrella of peace for European countries due to the threat of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Since the end of the Cold War, several former Eastern European countries have joined the bloc.
However, Trump, who has promised to end the early Ukrainian war, has had problems with NATO during his term as president. He condemned members of the military alliance to coast the strength of the US military. During his first tenure, he coordinated pushed NATO member states to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense.
In Brussels, Hegseth on Wednesday called on NATO countries to increase their defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product. The US Secretary of Defense has made it clear that Washington, DC is dealing with challenges such as the rise of “communist China,” and that Europeans need to spend more on defense.
“(In Ukraine) security guarantees must be supported by competent European and non-European forces. If these forces are deployed as peacekeepers in Ukraine at any time, they will be subject to non-nat missions. It should be deployed as part of it and not subject to Article V,” Hegses said.
He promised that the US troops would not be deployed in Ukraine. A statement by Hegseth shows the changes in policy from the previous administration under President Joe Biden. He believed it was up to Kiev to decide on eager concessions to make to achieve peace.
In 2008, NATO first promised to join Ukraine, and later meetings reaffirmed its decision.
However, Hegseth’s comments could pour cold water into Kyiv’s desires, making the peace roadmap even more difficult for the president of Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy spent last year gaining global support for the Peace Plan of 10 points.
Meanwhile, the message of NATO membership to Kiev and the message of Russia’s potential territorial interests in the negotiated settlement are good news for Russian President Vladimir V. Putin.
Putin has achieved the greatest position in the war, recognising the annexation of Moscow’s four eastern provinces worldwide, calling for NATO membership and limited military capabilities in Ukraine.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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