Trump administration undermined Ukraine’s position in peace negotiations: Germany
Defense Minister Pistorius says ‘it was a mistake’ to take Ukraine's NATO membership and territorial issues off the table before negotiations even began
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius makes a statement outside the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, where the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC 2025) is taking place in Munich, Germany. Photo: Behlül Çetinkaya, Anadolu Agency
BERLIN
Germany’s defense minister sharply criticized the Trump administration on Friday for undermining Ukraine’s position ahead of possible peace negotiations with Russia.
At the Munich Security Conference, Boris Pistorius told reporters that statements from US officials following President Donald Trump's call with Russian President Vladimir Putin had weakened Kyiv's negotiating position.
“In my view, it’s unfortunate that the Trump administration has taken two important negotiating issues off the table, namely Ukraine's NATO membership and the question of what territorial changes in Ukraine might look like. I think that was a mistake,” Pistorius said.
“It would have been much better to talk about Ukraine's possible NATO membership and about possible territorial adjustments only at the negotiating table with Ukraine present. Not beforehand, and not without making Putin pay the price for these,” he added.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told his European counterparts in Brussels that the Trump administration considers a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders “an unrealistic objective.” He also ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine and stated that any security guarantees offered to Ukraine as part of a peace agreement “must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.” He emphasized that US troops would not be deployed to Ukraine.
