Former Biden White Home nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan stated the assembly between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome Saturday gave him “the primary sliver of hope” he stated he has had shortly because it pertains to the present administration’s method to the battle in Ukraine.
“(The assembly) offers me the primary sliver of hope I’ve had shortly as a result of what I’ve seen to this point is President Trump giving Vladimir Putin U.S. recognition of Crimea, which Russia illegally occupied and annexed. … He is given Putin a promise that Ukraine won’t be a part of NATO, and he has given Putin a promise that he can hold all of the territory that he has illegally invaded and seized,” Sullivan instructed “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Saturday in an interview that aired Sunday.
He continued, “What’s Putin giving him? Up to now nothing. However right now having Zelenskyy come out and say he thought it was assembly, makes me suppose, ‘OK, possibly President Trump is seeing that Putin is main him down the backyard path.’ And actually, President Trump stated publicly that that is perhaps the case.”
Trump and Zelenskyy met privately in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday earlier than attending the funeral for Pope Francis in Vatican Metropolis. It was the primary time the 2 leaders met since their February Oval Workplace assembly devolved right into a heated argument in entrance of cameras that resulted in Zelenskyy being kicked out of the White Home.
On this Nov. 13, 2024, file photograph, Nationwide Safety Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks in the course of the every day press briefing within the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White Home in Washington, D.C.
Saul Loeb/AFP by way of Getty Photographs, FILE
Zelenskyy stated Saturday it was a “good assembly” in a submit on X, including: “We mentioned quite a bit one on one. Hoping for outcomes on the whole lot we lined. Defending lives of our folks. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Dependable and lasting peace that can forestall one other battle from breaking out. Very symbolic assembly that has potential to change into historic, if we obtain joint outcomes.”
And in a separate social media submit after their assembly, Trump took a extra crucial tone towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, floating the chance he’d impose new sanctions on Russia. The president additionally stated current Russian strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine makes him “suppose that possibly (Putin) doesn’t need to cease the battle, he’s simply tapping me alongside.”
Sullivan stated, “Russia began this battle, not Ukraine, and it is Russia — Vladimir Putin particularly — who’s the primary impediment to getting a ceasefire, and there have been moments when it looks like President Trump might need gotten that. In the present day could also be a type of moments. Sadly, each time there is a glimmer of recognition that Putin’s accountable, President Trump snaps again and places all of the strain on Ukraine and makes extra concessions to Russia. I hope that does not occur once more.”
Sullivan, who has not spoken publicly a lot since he left his submit within the White Home in January, instructed Raddatz that he “stayed quiet,” partly as a result of he “did not need to be a backseat driver.”
“Once I was within the seat, I had quite a lot of backseat drivers,” Sullivan stated. “However whenever you see the automotive begin careening in direction of the cliff, you bought to say one thing.”
He continued, “What I’ve seen in lower than 100 days is horrible harm to America’s credibility and belief with our associates and allies and horrible harm to America’s attraction by way of our political system, our markets, and our innovation. And most of all what I’ve seen is China reaping the advantages.”
Listed here are extra highlights from Sullivan’s interview:
On the Trump administration’s method to negotiating with Russia
Raddatz: Whenever you had been a nationwide safety adviser, the Biden administration went nowhere with this, with — with attempting sanctions with — you did not have interaction with Russia. So now you are saying. It is OK to have interaction with Russia. Whenever you look again, would you could have finished one thing otherwise?
Sullivan: Nicely, initially, we did have interaction with Russia. We had a number of channels to speak to the Russians, and we talked to them by means of that —
Raddatz: However actually not in the best way they’re now.
Sullivan: No, as a result of one of many issues we acknowledged whereas we had been in workplace was that Putin was at the moment not ready to return to the desk to do a deal that will generate a simply piece for Ukraine.
So we acknowledged we needed to truly construct extra leverage for Ukraine and within the closing months in workplace. We surged navy gear, we tightened sanctions, we seized the proceeds of Russian property, and we obtained Europe to return together with us and all of that.
So, we handed off to the brand new staff fairly a little bit of leverage for Ukraine to get deal on the desk. I hope they don’t find yourself squandering that leverage.
On new nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran
Sullivan: Look, once we left workplace … Iran was at its weakest level because the Eighties, possibly because the Iranian revolution in 1979. They’d misplaced their fundamental proxy, Hezbollah, they’d misplaced their air defenses. We had defended Israel twice immediately in opposition to Iranian missile assaults and proven that Iran could not actually do severe harm to Israel.
So, the situations had been ripe for diplomacy and for a deal. And I believe there’s a chance that they might get a deal. I believe that deal in its parts will not look too totally different from the deal that President Obama and Secretary Kerry produced within the Obama administration that Donald Trump ripped up. And I’ll discover it very attention-grabbing to see quite a lot of the critics of that deal come out in assist of what Trump produces. However I actually consider there must be a diplomatic answer right here, and I consider there’s one achievable.
On what the Trump administration has finished proper
Sullivan: It is laborious in 100 days to provide you with instance of that. I imply, there are issues the place they’ve taken ahead what we had —
Raddatz: Immigration?
Sullivan: — in movement. Sure, I imply, they’ve finished some issues on immigration, however actually, whenever you steadiness it in opposition to giving no due course of to folks and ship them to — sending them to El Salvadorian prisons, that harm is a lot larger than what they have been in a position to obtain.
I believe there are specific steps with respect to the Houthis that I may actually get behind. You realize, we took navy motion in opposition to the Houthis. They’ve stepped that up. I nonetheless consider that we have to join that to a bigger strategic finish recreation with the Houthis. However that will be an space the place I believe there’s been some continuity.
On the controversies round Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth
Raddatz: You have actually adopted the Sign chats along with your successor, Mike Waltz, by accident giving that away to a reporter, but in addition what Pete Hegseth texted on these Sign chats about launching F-18s and what hour they might be launched in assaults on Yemen. Is there any — do you consider these must be categorized messages?
Sullivan: Look, I believe you’ve got heard from intelligence professionals throughout the board that that is categorized info, but it surely factors up a bigger problem, which is a detailed good friend and adviser of Secretary Hegseth left Hegseth’s Pentagon and wrote an article saying the Pentagon is whole chaos, and Donald Trump ought to substitute Pete Hegseth.
That may be a clarion name if I’ve ever heard one. So this Sign problem is one instance amongst lots of the sorts of steps we have seen in 100 days on the Pentagon that increase actual questions on the way forward for that constructing and the way forward for our armed forces. And that is not me saying that that is his personal associates and advisers.
