Trump rejects Zelensky's warnings about NATO.

US President Donald Trump has rejected Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to pause the conflict with Kyiv in order to regroup and launch a full-scale war against NATO.

According to RT, Moscow has repeatedly rejected any temporary ceasefire agreement, insisting on a long-term, legally binding agreement that addresses the root causes of the Ukraine conflict. However, Zelensky asserted that he is "certain" that Putin wants a pause to "prepare, train, and lift some sanctions" before launching an attack not only on Ukraine but also on NATO member states.

"This could happen in the summer, maybe at the beginning or end of summer. I don't know when he'll be ready, but it will happen," Zelensky said in an interview with the program.Meet the PressAccording to NBC News on February 15th.

On February 16, Trump later rejected Zelensky's claims, telling reporters that he completely disagreed with the Ukrainian leader's assessment.

"No, I disagree. Not at all," Trump said, adding that he believes what Putin really wants for his country is "an end to the war."

"They've been fighting for a long time. They've done it before… They have a big, powerful machine. They defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon. But I think he wants to stop the war," Trump said.

President Trump also said he planned to meet with Putin in person "very soon," following a "long and difficult" phone call between the two last week. This was their first direct interaction since the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022. Trump then called Zelensky to "inform" him about the conversation, in which the Ukrainian leader reportedly reaffirmed that Kyiv was also ready to seek a solution to the conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on February 16 that Russia would need to consider Ukraine's lack of independence in any future negotiations, citing the collapse of the 2014-2015 Minsk Agreement. Trump's special envoy, Keith Kellogg, also stressed: "We will not go down that road again."

NATO has long viewed Russia as a direct threat to justify the bloc's existence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Western officials have also repeatedly stated that, if Moscow wins the Ukraine conflict, it could attack other European countries.

However, President Putin dismissed the idea, saying that the notion of Russia attacking NATO was "absurd," telling American journalist Tucker Carlson in February that NATO leaders were trying to scare people with an imaginary threat. He also stressed that "intelligent people understand very well that it's just a hoax."

Moscow has consistently opposed Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO, viewing the alliance's eastward expansion as a threat to national security and one of the main factors leading to conflict with Kyiv.

At the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky stated that, "currently, the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin, as he appears to be able to block NATO decisions."

Trump has implied that Washington would not support Kyiv joining NATO as part of a potential peace deal with Moscow, while his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, called Ukraine's NATO ambitions "unrealistic."