“Washington considers Ukraine’s candidacy to join NATO to be a closed matter” (Russian Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs)

Kinshasa, September 8^th, 2026 (CPA/Xinhua). – The Russian Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs has affirmed on Tuesday that the US President Donald Trump considered the issue of Ukraine’s affiliation to NATO to be closed, adding that there was no need to seek to reopen it, the Xinhua News Agency has reported. “The matter is closed and there is no need to try to reopen it. The Russia’s discussions with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow are based on Mr Trump’s position of not admitting Ukraine to NATO and recognising the realities on the ground,” has declared Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs. “Trump has said, first of all, to forget about any attempt to bring Ukraine into the North Atlantic Alliance. He has said this was clear long before Mr Putin’s declarations”, he has added. For his part, the Russian President Vladimir Putin had declared that the Ukraine’s accession to NATO would pose a threat to Russia and would not enhance Ukraine’s own security. Mr Putin had also previously emphasised that this threat was one of the reasons behind the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. According to him, Russia is ready to continue discussions with the United States on Ukraine. “They recognise the key points and are trying to act constructively on that basis. I think this deserves support,” has said the Russian president.