Former US President Donald Trump has criticized current President Joe Biden for allegedly promising Ukraine NATO membership.
In a podcast interview on All In, Trump argued that such promises contributed to the outbreak of the current war.
Trump said, “For 20 years, I heard that if Ukraine goes into NATO, it’s a real problem for Russia. I’ve heard this for a long time. I think that’s why this war started.”
The former president claimed that Biden “constantly said the wrong things and one of the wrong things he said was that Ukraine would join NATO.” Trump said, “When I heard him talking, I thought: this guy is going to start a war.”
Trump reiterated his belief that the full-scale Russian invasion would not have occurred if he had remained president.
According to Trump, Russia began positioning forces near the Ukrainian border after he left office. He initially believed this was a negotiating tactic by Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he described as “a good negotiator.”
US President Joe Biden recently said in a TIME interview that peace in Ukraine means ensuring Russia can never occupy Ukraine and that NATO membership is not necessary for this purpose.
The US administration has also indicated that Ukraine needs to win the war against Russia to join the North Atlantic Alliance.
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