Bolton: Putin at risk of ‘overplaying his hand' on Ukraine talks
Former national security adviser John Bolton said during a recent interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be at risk of 'overplaying his hand' with President Trump amid the talks to end the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
Bolton, a vocal critic of Trump, said that Russia is still 'suffering' economically from the sanctions that Western Europe and the U.S. have imposed over the three-year war in Eastern Europe, but argued that Putin is still in a 'very strong' position politically.
'But as this war drags on, I think his position does get weaker. The real question is whether, between the efforts of the United States, the efforts of Europe to get a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire, it's going to happen,' Bolton said during his appearance on John Catsimatidis's radio show, 'Cats Roundtable' on WABC 770 AM.
'Putin has already gotten a lot of concessions for what he wants. He wants to hold on to the territory Russia's seized in Ukraine and but I think at this point, he may be at risk of overplaying his hand with Trump,' Bolton said.
Ukraine and its allies in Europe — France, Germany, the UK and Poland — have turned up the pressure on Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire that would start as early as next week.
'Ukraine and all allies are ready for a full, unconditional ceasefire on land, air, and at sea for at least 30 days starting already on Monday,' Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Saturday. 'If Russia agrees and effective monitoring is ensured, a durable ceasefire and confidence-building measures can pave the way to peace negotiations.'
Trump has pushed for both countries to sign on to a temporary truce, a plan only Ukraine has endorsed so far. The president has warned that if the deal is not forged, Russia could suffer from more sanctions.
Both Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have said that if substantial progress in talks does not come through, the U.S. could pull out of its facilitating role.
On Wednesday, Vance said while speaking at the Munich Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., that the administration thinks that Russia is 'asking for too much' in peace negotiations that could bring an end to the largest land conflict in Europe since World War II.
'I wouldn't say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution,' Vance said. 'What I would say is, right now the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they're asking for too much.'
It is unclear what requirements Russia is asking for, but Bolton argued that Putin should agree to a ceasefire, allowing his armed forces to replenish.
'We've had some interesting comments, both from Trump and JD Vance, that say the Russians are asking for too much. Not clear exactly what they mean, but, but Putin's in one of the best positions he's going to be in, and I've been wondering for some time why he doesn't take advantage of a ceasefire,' Bolton said. 'The Russians need it badly to have a chance to rebuild their army.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump outraged by Ukraine's strikes on Russia: White House considers ending support for Kyiv
US President Donald Trump is outraged by Ukraine's decision to strike Russian air bases. The attack has caused anger in the White House and triggered a new wave of debate over the advisability of further support for Kyiv. Source: The Atlantic, citing three administration officials and an outside White House adviser Details: According to The Atlantic, Trump has in private conversations with advisers expressed deep dissatisfaction that Ukraine had taken such a step without coordinating with the United States. The sources said that a new round of discussions has begun on whether continued military and financial support for Kyiv is justified following the Ukrainian attack. Trump's personal dissatisfaction with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was once again rekindled – the US president has called him a "hothead" who, in his opinion, could push the world towards a Third World War. "Zelenskyy didn't give the president of the United States a heads-up to say he's going to do a deep strike into strategic forces of Russia, which is going up the escalatory ladder as quickly as you can, on the day before your meeting in Türkiye?" Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon said. Trump privately backed the view of right-wing critics this week, accusing Zelenskyy of allegedly showing off after the drone strikes. According to an adviser, Trump was impressed by the boldness of the strikes but believes Zelenskyy should have focused on the talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul. Background: Trump revealed details of his latest conversation with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, including his suggestion that Ukraine and Russia should be allowed to "fight for a while" because it would make ending the war easier later. Earlier, Trump said he is refraining from imposing sanctions on Russia if he believes it could "screw up" the conclusion of a "deal". Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Analysis-NATO's dilemma: how Zelenskiy can attend summit without provoking Trump
By Andrew Gray, Sabine Siebold and Lili Bayer BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Officials organising a NATO summit in The Hague this month are expected to keep it short, restrict discussion of Ukraine, and choreograph meetings so that Volodymyr Zelenskiy can somehow be in town without provoking Donald Trump. Though the Ukrainian president is widely expected to attend the summit in some form, NATO has yet to confirm whether he is actually invited. Diplomats say he may attend a pre-summit dinner but be kept away from the main summit meeting. Whether the brief summit statement will even identify Russia as a threat or express support for Ukraine is still up in the air. The careful steps are all being taken to avoid angering Washington, much less provoking any repeat of February's White House blow-up between Trump and Zelenskiy that almost torpedoed the international coalition supporting Kyiv. NATO's European members, who see Russia as an existential threat and NATO as the principal means of countering it, want to signal their continued strong support for Ukraine. But they are also desperate to avoid upsetting a volatile Trump, who stunned them at a summit seven years ago by threatening to quit the alliance altogether. If Zelenskiy does not attend in some form, it would be "at least a PR disaster", acknowledged a senior NATO diplomat. Since Russia's invasion three years ago, Zelenskiy has regularly attended NATO summits as the guest of honour, where alliance members pledged billions in weapons and condemned Russia for an illegal war of conquest. Leaders repeatedly promised that Ukraine would one day join NATO. But since Washington's shift under Trump towards partly accepting Russia's justifications for the war and disparaging Zelenskiy, the 32-member alliance no longer speaks with a single voice about Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Trump has taken Ukraine's NATO membership off the table, unilaterally granting Moscow one of its main demands. After dressing down Zelenskiy in the Oval Office in February, Trump cut vital U.S. military and intelligence support for Ukraine for days. Since then, the two men publicly mended fences in a meeting in St Peter's Basilica for the funeral of Pope Francis. But mostly they have spoken remotely, with Zelenskiy twice phoning the White House on speakerphone while surrounded by four friendly Europeans -- Britain's Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz and Poland's Donald Tusk. SPENDING BOOST Trump is expected to come away from The Hague with a big diplomatic victory as NATO members heed his longstanding complaints that they do not spend enough on defence and agree a much higher target. They are expected to boost their goal for traditional military spending to 3.5% of economic output from 2%. A further pledge to spend 1.5% on related expenses such as infrastructure and cyber defence would raise the total to 5% demanded by Trump. But the summit itself and its accompanying written statement are expected to be unusually short, minimising the chances of flare-ups or disagreements. A pledge to develop recommendations for a new Russia strategy has been kicked into the long grass. Meanwhile, Zelenskiy may have to be content with an invitation to a pre-summit dinner, hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, diplomats say. Unlike at NATO's previous two annual summits, the leaders do not plan to hold a formal meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, the official venue for talks between the alliance and Kyiv. The senior NATO diplomat said a working dinner with either foreign ministers or defence ministers could instead serve as an NUC. 'PROPERLY REPRESENTED' On Wednesday, NATO boss Mark Rutte said he had invited Ukraine to the summit, but sidestepped a question on whether the invitation included Zelenskiy himself. After meeting Rutte on Monday, Zelenskiy said on X that it was "important that Ukraine is properly represented" at the summit. "That would send the right signal to Russia," he said. U.S. and Ukrainian officials did not reply to questions about the nature of any invitation to Ukraine. Some European countries are still willing to say in public that they hope to see Zelenskiy invited as the head of the Ukrainian delegation. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said he would like to see a "delegation led by President Zelenskiy". Asked about an invitation for Zelenskiy, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said "I, for my part, strongly welcome the invitation" without giving further details. But diplomats have tried to play down the importance of the formal status of Zelenskiy's role: "Many allies want to have Zelenskiy at the summit, but there is flexibility on the precise format that would allow his presence," said a second senior NATO diplomat. A senior European diplomat said: "We should not get stuck on 'NUC or no NUC'. If he comes to the leaders' dinner, that would be the minimum." (Additional reporting by by Lidia KellyEditing by Peter Graff)
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Harvard University expands lawsuit on Trump's foreign student ban
Harvard University on Thursday expanded a lawsuit against the US government's decision to block international students from attending the elite institution. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation suspending international visas for students due to national security concerns and their failure to comply with federal agencies. Harvard expanded a lawsuit it filed last month, challenging the ban. In the lawsuit, it accused the Trump administration of attempting to pressure the institution with an unlawful retaliatory measure. "With the stroke of a pen, the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi Noem] and the President have sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body — international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission and the country," the lawsuit says. "Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard." Late last month, a federal judge temporarily blocked the US government's plan to exclude foreign students. The judge's decision is likely to be just the first step in a long legal battle. It is not a final ruling. Trump has accused Harvard and other elite US universities of allowing anti-Semitism on campus. In April, his administration sent a list of demands to Harvard, which the institution has refused to adopt.
