Trump doesn’t want to acknowledge what Putin is doing in war against Ukraine - Volker
US President Donald Trump's problem is his unwillingness to recognize what Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is doing in the war against Ukraine.
According to Censor.NET, this was stated in an interview with Glavkom by Kurt Volker, Special Representative of the US State Department for Ukraine in 2017-2019, Honorary Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
He called Trump's words that Ukraine gave Putin a reason to "bomb itself" "horrible".
"Such a statement by the US president ignores the fact that Russia bombs Ukraine every day: almost 500 drones on Kyiv and Kharkiv. And this is not new. Trump's comment mischaracterizes what is happening in Ukraine. Putin does not need a reason to bomb Ukraine. He does it all the time because it is his choice. Putin wants to bomb Ukraine, to restore the Russian empire, to destroy Ukraine, national identity. And Putin will not change his position, he is very clear and consistent on this. For his part, Trump doesn't want to recognize what Putin is doing, and that's a problem," Volker emphasized.
He also commented on the absence of Pentagon Chief Pete Hagel at the meeting of 50 NATO defense ministers held in Brussels.
"Secretary Hughes deliberately did not go to this meeting. He wants to send a signal to Europe: it has to take the lead, because the United States is doing so much. Therefore, Europe must do more," Volker said.
At the same time, the former State Department special envoy for Ukraine does not think that it is worth drawing a conclusion that Washington is distancing itself from Kyiv. He noted that the United States continues to supply Ukraine with weapons and does not lift the sanctions imposed on Russia.
"We are considering additional sanctions. Putin continues to refuse a ceasefire, and he is not responding to American efforts to stop the war. Trump may, in fact, find a way to impose further sanctions, increase arms supplies to Ukraine, or allow it to buy additional U.S. weapons, possibly excluding taxpayer-funded assistance. And this is quite likely," Volker stated.
