German defense minister criticizes Trump’s negotiation approach with Putin

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has criticized former US President Donald Trump's approach to negotiations with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. He believes discussions on Ukraine's NATO membership and territorial concessions should have taken place at the negotiation table.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Pistorius, as quoted by Sky, called Trump's decision to exclude these issues from negotiations a "clumsy" mistake.

According to Pistorius, Trump prematurely conceded two key points:

• Ukraine's NATO membership
• Potential territorial changes

"Putin did not retreat even an inch from his position and gave nothing in return," Pistorius said. He argued that Trump's preemptive concessions weakened the negotiating position.

"I think it was clumsy. I think it was a mistake. In my view, discussions on Ukraine's NATO membership and territorial changes should have happened at the table—with Ukraine included—rather than being conceded in advance without anything in return from Putin. That was wrong," he emphasized.

Pistorius also stressed the importance of European participation in negotiations, as the outcome directly impacts European security.

"This is about a stable European order with an aggressive neighbor, Russia. Since it concerns our region, Europeans must be part of the negotiations. Without Europe's involvement, it's hard to imagine how we could later be expected to uphold any peace agreement," he said.

However, he acknowledged that Europe alone cannot provide full security guarantees to Ukraine without US support in the coming years.

Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump stated in a February 12 press conference that Ukraine would continue receiving aid "because otherwise, Putin would think he won." However, he emphasized that financial support "must be secured." Trump also expressed doubt that Ukraine could restore its 2014 borders but avoided confirming whether he saw Ukraine as an equal party in peace talks.

New US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth echoed this stance, stating that restoring Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is unrealistic and that NATO membership is not a viable outcome of peace negotiations.

Similarly, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte clarified that the Alliance never guaranteed Ukraine's NATO membership as a condition for ending the war with Russia.

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