John Bolton makes prediction for Ukraine conflict — Analysis
Biden has “made mistake after mistake” in handling the crisis, the hawkish Republican and former US national security adviser says
The US President Joe Biden failed to prevent the Russian offensive in Ukraine, and is now unable to decide what to do. John Bolton was the former US national security adviser.
On Saturday, the Republican politician and staunch opponent of Russia, as well as one of most hawkish figures in the American political scene, made a claim that Biden was his. “made mistake after mistake”How to handle the Ukrainian crisis
Although the US president had all the resources to stop the Russian military operations, “didn’t exercise them,”He insisted. According to Bolton, Biden shouldn’t have announced publicly that American troops wouldn’t be sent to Ukraine to “leave the burden of ambiguity on Russia.”Biden also stated that it was right to place sanctions against Moscow prior to the offensive’s start, and not once it has begun.
The former US national security advisor stated that there is a possibility for the conflict between Russia, Ukraine to be settled at the negotiation table. “I don’t see any possibility of a deal between the two of them.”
“I don’t think [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is in a position to say he has achieved Russia’s objectives. At some point, he may be able to say that. It may be a lie, but he’ll find a way to stop the hostilities on his own terms,”He said.
Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine “has no flexibility to negotiate at this point,”He said that polls showed the Ukrainian majority oppose any territorial concessions made to Russia.
“So, sadly, particularly for Ukraine, I think this grinds on for some time,”Bolton spoke highly of the fighting.
Bolton replied that the White House has a winning strategy for Ukraine, after having been asked by Bolton whether it had one. “I don’t think they do.”
“I think now they don’t know what outcome to expect; they don’t know what they want to achieve,”He pointed out.
“The initial strategy [of the Biden administration] was to prevent catastrophic defeat”The 73-year old said that Washington was expecting Ukraine to fall within weeks.
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“Let’s not get too excited about the fact that Ukraine wasn’t overrun,”He suggested, and said that “now we need to decide what our objectives are.”
Bolton says they ought to be “gaining again full territorial integrity and sovereignty for Ukraine.”
Biden discussed the Ukrainian conflict earlier in the week at NATO’s summit in Madrid. “I don’t know how it’s going to end,”He said that, while at the exact same time vowing that “it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine.”
During the Russian military operation, the US was the most vocal supporter of Kiev, providing billions in financial and military aid to Ukraine, along with intelligence data. “We are going to stick with Ukraine, and all of the [NATO] alliance is going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes,” Biden said.
Putin also commented on Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine on Wednesday during the Caspian Summit in Turkmenistan, reiterating that the military operation was going according to plan and that all of its goals are going to be achieved. “The work is going smoothly, rhythmically… There is no need to talk about the timing,”Russian leaders pointed this out.
Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. These protocols were originally signed by France and Germany through intermediaries. Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”
In February 2022 the Kremlin acknowledged the Donbass republics to be independent states. They demanded Ukraine declare its neutrality and refuse any Western military alliances. Kiev maintains that Russia’s offensive was not provoked.
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