The key facts

  • Matthew Whitaker called claims of Trump's closeness to Putin inconsistent with reality
  • According to the ambassador, Trump is seeking terms for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine
  • Whitaker acknowledged that finding terms acceptable to all parties has proven 'very difficult'

US Ambassador to NATO's rebuttal

US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker rejected claims that President Donald Trump is closer to Russian leader Vladimir Putin than to Europe. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru, citing Ukrinform. Whitaker stated that he 'categorically rejects' such claims and acknowledged that Europe may have a different view, but it 'certainly does not correspond to reality.'

Search for terms of a peace agreement

According to the ambassador, Trump is trying to find terms for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, despite the difficulties. 'Vladimir Putin is who he is. We may wish he were different. We may wish he would agree to what we all consider a reasonable agreement. But he will not agree,' Whitaker said. Therefore, he continued, it is necessary to seek terms acceptable to all parties, which has proven 'very difficult,' since the conflict has already been going on for its fifth year.

Context

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he did not feel betrayed by the United States, but complained about the 'very good relations' between Putin and Trump. In addition, statements had previously been made in the US about the failure of the West's plan to isolate Putin. Whitaker's statements were made against the backdrop of these publications and directly relate to the discussion about the nature of Trump's relations with Moscow and Europe.