Former national security adviser John Bolton suggested on Friday that U.S. support for Ukraine is likely to decline if former President Donald Trump is elected in November, adding: “We're toast.” said.
His comments came after President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy briefly met at Trump Tower in New York City. During the visit, the former president claimed he could soon broker a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
When asked by CNN's Caitlan Collins why the two met, Bolton cited “political reasons.”
“I think there are political reasons. I think he obviously knew that Mr. Zelensky was in Washington. He met with President Biden, he met with Vice President Harris,” Bolton said. he told Mr. Collins.the host of “The Source” said in an interview. “I think this was designed to calm the nerves of some Republicans… who despise Trump and don't want to vote for him, but fear the radicalism of the Democratic Party and in their minds rationalize. “
“Certainly Trump will not sell out Ukraine,” he continued. “So this is the kind of photo that helps convince them that Trump isn't that bad.”
Bolton added: “I want to burst that bubble because I think in terms of U.S. support for Ukraine, if Trump wins, that's toast.”
After his meeting with the Ukrainian president, President Trump said he was “honored” to meet with Zelenskiy, even though he had deep doubts about continuing aid to the country. He praised the relationship between the two leaders and said he would work with Ukraine and Russia to “resolve this issue.”
“We're going to work very hard with both sides to try to resolve this issue,” Trump said Friday. “I think we can work it out that's good for both sides. The time is now. By the way, the president… [Zelensky] I know that too. he wants to accomplish something. He doesn't want to do that. ”
The former president suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin also wants to stop the war. Asked if he agreed, Mr Bolton said: “Absolutely.”
“I think President Putin knows that since 2014, he has doubled the amount of territory in Ukraine that Russia controls, but he has paid a high price for it,” he said on Friday. “He wants to… draw a line under this issue so that he can help the Russian economy recover, convince the Europeans to buy natural gas from Russia again, and rearm and retrain the military.” “And then I can make myself available for attack.”He returned to Ukraine a few years later. ”
Bolton added, “And along the lines that President Trump is talking about, if there is a ceasefire, that's exactly what he will do.”
Zelensky's visit with President Trump came a day after President Biden and Vice President Harris welcomed him to the White House. In a meeting in Washington after Biden announced an estimated $8 billion aid package for Ukraine, he laid out a “winning plan” to end the nearly three-year war.
The Ukrainian leader also met with lawmakers at the parliament building.
