Trump considering deal with Putin to block Ukraine's NATO membership, officials say

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Former President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a deal with Russia to block future NATO membership for countries including Ukraine and Georgia, Politico reported on July 2, citing unnamed officials “familiar with the thinking within Trump’s inner circle.”

The potential plan is the latest signal that Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, intends to radically change the United States’ stance on Ukraine and its broader commitments to NATO.

If elected, Trump has promised to end Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine within 24 hours, but he has declined to provide public details on how he plans to do so. Two of his top advisers have also recently proposed a plan that would end military aid to Ukraine unless it agrees to enter peace negotiations with Russia.

One of the sources told Politico that Trump “would be open to something that would prevent NATO expansion and not return Ukraine to its 1991 borders.”

The comments echo a Washington Post article in April, citing unnamed sources, that Trump had privately said he could end Russia’s war by pressuring Ukraine to cede Crimea and Donbass to Moscow.

At the same time, Trump said in the first presidential debate in June that he rejected the conditions proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin for a possible ceasefire, which involved Ukraine abandoning its quest for NATO membership and completely withdrawing from the four regions of Ukraine, plus Crimea, that Russia illegally annexed.

Russia does not currently occupy the entire territory of the four regions concerned.

In line with previous suggestions, Trump is also reportedly considering adjusting US participation in NATO.

One of the main principles of the proposed change would be the creation of a “two-tier NATO” system, in which only countries that reach the spending threshold of 2% of GDP would be able to “benefit from the generosity of the United States in terms of defense and the security guarantee.”

On paper, the proposal appears to violate NATO’s Article 5, which requires all members to come to the aid of any member under attack, but officials close to Trump said that “the language of Article 5 is flexible and does not require any member to respond with military force.”

Trump sparked international outrage after saying in February that he would encourage Russia to do “whatever it wants” to NATO members that fail to meet their commitment to spend 2 percent on defense.

Officials said the former president’s views on Ukraine and NATO are largely based on his personal interests.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon told reporters that Trump reportedly said, “If Ukraine wins, what’s the advantage?”