Former national security adviser John Bolton said during a recent interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be at risk of “overplaying his hand” with President Trump amid the talks to end the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Bolton, a vocal critic of Trump, said that Russia is still “suffering” economically from the sanctions that Western Europe and the U.S. have imposed over the three-year war in Eastern Europe, but he argued that Putin is still in a “very strong” position politically.
“But as this war drags on, I think his position does get weaker. The real question is whether, between the efforts of the United States, the efforts of Europe to get a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire, it’s going to happen,” Bolton said during his appearance on John Catsimatidis’s radio show, “Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM.
“Putin has already gotten a lot of concessions for what he wants. He wants to hold on to the territory Russia’s seized in Ukraine … but I think at this point, he may be at risk of overplaying his hand with Trump,” Bolton said.
Ukraine and its allies in Europe — France, Germany, the U.K. and Poland — have turned up the pressure on Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire that would start as early as next week.
“Ukraine and all allies are ready for a full, unconditional ceasefire on land, air, and at sea for at least 30 days starting already on Monday,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Saturday. “If Russia agrees and effective monitoring is ensured, a durable ceasefire and confidence-building measures can pave the way to peace negotiations.”
Trump has pushed for both countries to sign on to a temporary truce, a plan only Ukraine has endorsed so far. The president has warned that if the deal is not forged, Russia could suffer from more sanctions.
Both Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have said that if substantial progress in talks does not come through, the U.S. could pull out of its facilitating role.
On Wednesday, Vance said while speaking at the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, D.C., the administration thinks that Russia is “asking for too much” in peace negotiations that could bring an end to the largest land conflict in Europe since World War II.
“I wouldn’t say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution,” Vance said. “What I would say is, right now the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much.”
It is unclear what requirements Russia is asking for, but Bolton argued that Putin should agree to a ceasefire, allowing his armed forces to replenish.
“We’ve had some interesting comments, both from Trump and JD Vance, that say the Russians are asking for too much. Not clear exactly what they mean, but, but Putin’s in one of the best positions he’s going to be in, and I’ve been wondering for some time why he doesn’t take advantage of a ceasefire,” Bolton said. “The Russians need it badly to have a chance to rebuild their army.”
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