Trump and Putin at an APEC summit in 2017. (Image: Getty)
Donald Trump has been accused of giving Putin “exactly what he wants” on , as fears grow that the White House is caving into Russian demands.
The US President announced that peace talks would start immediately after his “highly productive” phone call with the Russian leader on Wednesday.
Trump also suggested that he could soon make an official visit to Moscow to hold direct talks with his Russian counterpart.
His announcement came shortly after his Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth told a security summit in Brussels that it was “unrealistic” to expect to return to its pre-2014 borders and downplayed the prospect of the country joining NATO.
Yesterday’s pronouncements from both Trump and his administration are leading to fears among Western allies and security experts that the US is selling short.
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John Bolton served as a Trump National Security Advisor. (Image: Getty)
John Bolton, a former Trump National Security Advisor, accused the US President of effectively “surrendering” to Putin before negotiations had even begun.
“The positions that Defence Secretary Hegseth announced in Brussels which I am sure I’d be stunned if Trump didn’t convey them directly to Putin in their phone call, constitute terms of a settlement that could have been written in the Kremlin,” he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
“Maybe they were written in the Kremlin and got out in propaganda channels.
“But it’s a complete reversal of the US and Nato position on a number of issues.
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“For example up until today the official American position was that should be returned to full sovereignty and territorial integrity – that’s gone.
“The question of Nato membership, as far back as 2008, had been that ultimately would become a Nato member that doesn’t look that’s around anymore.”
The former White House official went on to pinpoint a more fundamental and strategic victory for the Kremlin boss.
“Putin has scored a whole series of victories today, it’s hard to encompass them all.
“But I think one in addition to these substantive concessions is that he now has exactly what he wants.
“Putin doesn’t want to negotiate with Zelensky. He wants to negotiate with Trump because he thinks he’ll get more out of him and he’s absolutely right.”
Bolton’s sentiments were shared by a leading anti-Putin activist, who suggested that Trump was dancing to the tune of his Russian master.
Gary Kasparov, a former World Chess Champion, posted to his X social media channel, “Now we know what Trump means by saying there would have been no war on his watch.
“Yes, he would have forced to surrender to Putin’s demands without resistance. Once his chosen candidate lost in 2020, Putin needed invasion to try to take by force.”