Trump says Ukraine to be involved in peace talks with Russia

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Ukraine would participate in peace negotiations with Russia.

"They're part of it. We would have Ukraine, and we have Russia, and we'll have other people involved, a lot of people," Trump told a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House.

Trump attributes the origins of the Ukraine conflict partly to Ukraine's potential NATO membership, which Russia had long opposed.

"From day one ... they've said they cannot have Ukraine be in NATO. They said that very strongly," Trump said, adding that he believed talks of Ukraine's accession to the bloc sparked the conflict.

Trump said US and Russian officials would meet in Munich, Germany, on Friday and that Ukraine was also invited.

Trump also mentioned to reporters that high-ranking officials, though not the leaders, from all three countries would meet in Saudi Arabia next week to work toward ending the conflict.

"We're working with (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelensky and with (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin, and my impression is that ... I know that President Zelensky wants to make a deal, and I also feel that I know that President Putin wants to make a deal," Trump said.

Following Thursday's meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that although Ukraine's membership in the alliance could be part of any peace agreement with Russia, it has not been formally agreed upon.

"What I consistently have said is we have to make sure that whatever the outcome is, we have to make sure that Vladimir Putin will never, ever try again to attack Ukraine," said Rutte.

"But it has never been a promise to Ukraine that as part of a peace deal, they would be in NATO," he added.

On the same occasion, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that NATO's European partners should assume primary responsibility for defending the continent.

"Our expectation of our friends -- and we say this in solidarity -- is you have to spend more on your defense, for your country, on that continent, understanding that the American military and the American people stand beside you, as we have in NATO," he said.

Trump said on Monday that the United States could conclude a rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine worth 500 billion dollars to secure Washington's financial and military aid to Kiev.

He sent US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday to present Zelensky with a draft partnership agreement between the two countries to get written assurances that the United States would get access to its rare earth elements and oil and gas, the Associated Press reported.

"I told them that I want the equivalent of like 500 billion US dollars worth of rare earth (minerals), and they've essentially agreed to do that," Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

Zelensky told reporters that Kiev would now review the preliminary draft agreement and expressed hope that a deal could be finalized at the Munich Security Conference from Feb 14-16.

"We had a productive, constructive conversation. For me, the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine is very important, and we talked about minerals in general," said Zelensky.