Trump First Western Leader to Acknowledge NATO Expansion’s Role in Ukraine Conflict

US President Donald Trump has become the first and, according to Moscow, the only Western leader to openly acknowledge NATO expansion as a root cause of the conflict in Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said during the forum Zhirinovsky Readings event, as reported by TASS. "Trump became the first and almost the only Western leader to openly recognize NATO expansion as a root cause of the conflict,” Ryabkov stated. Anchorage Summit as Framework for Negotiations Ryabkov emphasized that any negotiation process aimed at resolving the conflict should remain within the framework of the understandings reached at the Anchorage summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the American leader. He described this track as difficult but ultimately the correct path toward peace and the normalization of relations between Moscow and Washington.