Former MSNBC host Chris Matthews expressed outrage on Monday over President Donald Trump’s Russia-Ukraine peace deal restricting NATO troops in Ukraine.
The draft agreement includes that “NATO agrees not to station troops in Ukraine,” according to Sky News. Matthews raised concerns on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” that the provision would bar U.S. troops from fighting Russia on behalf of Ukraine. (RELATED: Corruption Probe Threatens Zelenskyy’s Grip On Power)
WATCH:
“This thing smells from the beginning. When people say, ‘Is this Russia’s plan?’ … Who else would have cooked up this plan? 600,000 troops by the Ukrainians — that is a post‑Munich decision, after the deal was made that Trump will be in love with,” Matthews said. “After the deal, who’s going to defend Ukraine? And it’s going to be a smaller army against a larger portion of their country taken away already. They didn’t win on the battlefield. They’ll have a larger portion. No NATO troops — that means no U.S. troops.”
“Does anybody trust Donald Trump to go to war to defend Ukraine after the deal? Whatever happens, the aggressor Russians who are set on aggression — that’s what they want,” he continued. “That’s their motive in life. That’s [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s motive in life. Does anybody think that Donald Trump will put American troops in Ukraine to defend that country, or will lead NATO troops in that country? I don’t see it.”
Matthews argued that the limitations of Ukrainian troops and the restriction of NATO troops indicates that Russia wants to continue fighting against Ukraine.
“And I think everything in this deal — and I think it is a Russian deal — is cooked up for the Russians. Why reduce the size of the Ukrainian army unless you intend to fight after the battle, after the deal, more fighting?” he said. “That’s why you would restrict NATO troops — because you want to fight after the deal. The Russians are not quitting. They may cut a deal that’s favorable to them in the short run, but they’re coming back again.”
Trump expressed optimism about negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in a Monday Truth Social post.
“Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening,” he wrote. “GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
The president had given a Thanksgiving deadline for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept a peace deal to end his nation’s war with Russia, while saying deadlines could be extended.
While Zelenskyy signaled his willingness to discuss concessions outlined in the proposed peace deal and asserted in a Friday X post that his government was at work on the individual points, he also said in a Friday video statement that the U.S. had put Ukraine in a position of “either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.”
Putin said on Friday that Trump’s plan could “form the basis” for a final peace agreement.
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