NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has confirmed that Ukraine’s membership in the alliance is not currently under consideration as part of ongoing efforts to reach a peace deal between the United States and Russia. Speaking on Bloomberg TV on March 14 after his meeting with US President Donald Trump, Rutte made it clear that any discussions about security guarantees for Ukraine would only take place after a peace agreement or a ceasefire is established.

The statement signals a major shift in NATO’s stance on Ukraine, which has long sought membership in the alliance as a safeguard against Russian aggression. However, Moscow has consistently identified Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as a fundamental cause of the conflict, demanding Ukrainian neutrality as a cornerstone for any potential resolution.

During the interview, Bloomberg host Annmarie Hordern pressed Rutte on whether Trump had expressed a willingness to offer security guarantees to Ukraine as part of his peace initiative. Rutte responded that such guarantees would be needed “to keep a peace deal,” but that it was premature to discuss them without an agreement in place. When directly asked whether Trump had already removed Ukraine’s NATO bid from the equation, Rutte affirmed that this was the case.

Rutte also indicated that Trump wants any eventual peace deal to be “lasting and durable,” suggesting that alternative security arrangements would be offered to Ukraine to encourage it to accept a ceasefire. However, he ruled out the possibility of NATO officially participating in such an arrangement, stating, “There are many ways to [provide security guarantees]… But for NATO to be as NATO involved would be difficult. NATO will........

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