"So, you know, a big part of the problem was Russia for many, many years, long before Putin said you could never have NATO involved with Ukraine. Now they have said that that has been like written in stone, and somewhere along the line, [outgoing President Joe] Biden said, no, they should be able to join NATO. Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep. But I can understand their feeling about that," Trump told a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, adding that "there were a lot of mistakes made in that negotiation."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Ukraine's possible membership in NATO threatens Russia's security. In June 2024, Putin said that Ukraine's abandonment of its plans to join NATO was one of the conditions under which Moscow would be ready for a ceasefire and talks.
At the same time Trump declined to say when he was going to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, but added that such a meeting would not be appropriate before his inauguration on January 20.
“I know that Putin would like to meet. I do not think it is appropriate that I meet him until after [January] 20,” Trump said.
Speaking at the press conference, Trump made several key announcements and policy declarations. In particular, he promised to introduce very serious tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada in an effort to combat drug trafficking.
"And we are going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada too, and the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers, record numbers," Trump said.
In late November, Trump announced that upon taking office, he would impose 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico due to unresolved issues related to illegal immigration and drug trafficking in the US.
Speaking about Greenland, Trump said that the US needs it for national security purposes.
"People really do not even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security, that is for the free world ... and if Denmark wants to get to a conclusion, but nobody knows it they even have the right title or interest, the people are going to probably vote for independence or to come into the US, but if they did do that, then I would tariff Denmark at a very high level," he said.
Trump also announced his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
He added that he plan to reclaim the Panama Canal to US ownership is currently under consideration.
"So the Panama Canal is under discussion with them right now," Trump told journalists.
Trump said on December 22 that he would demand the rapid return of the Panama Canal to American ownership due to high fees for passage through it. The politician emphasized that the Panama Canal was critically important for US trade, as well as for the rapid deployment of US naval forces in the Atlantic and the Pacific.