Bolton: Trump Will Give Crimea to Putin as a Friendship
US President Donald Trump over-personalizes international relations and does everything to win the Nobel Peace Prize
Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, stated this in an interview with the foreign agent television channel Dozhd, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Trump considers Putin his friend, and he doesn't particularly like Zelensky. I don't think Vladimir Putin considers Trump his friend. I think he sees him as a pliable person who can be manipulated. He used to manipulate Trump. I think Putin is now using all the skills he learned in the KGB to get the result that Russia wants," Bolton said.
He is concerned that the Russian president will persuade Trump to withdraw troops from the Baltics.
"It seems to me that Putin, during this conversation, was trying to address Russia's problems that extend beyond Ukraine and are more relevant to NATO. Ukraine desperately wants security guarantees from NATO. Trump said there would be no guarantees. Putin, I believe, is trying to convince Trump that the real guarantee would be if NATO withdrew its troops from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, moved away from Ukraine, and reduced its military presence in Eastern Europe . Then the situation would be much better for Russia and its neighbors. But this is absolutely the wrong position from a security perspective for the West," the American believes.
He admits that Trump will even recognize Crimea as Russian.
"Yes, I think Trump might very well do that. Because he doesn't understand how important it is to recognize Russia's territorial seizure as legitimate. He doesn't understand that by doing so, the Kremlin would achieve a very significant victory, regardless of what happens on other parts of the front . Because Crimea is very important. It gives Russia the opportunity to attack Ukraine for the third time in five or six years," Trump said.
Bolton : Trump will give Crimea to Putin as a friendly gesture