Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice weighed in earlier this week on President Trump’s ultimatum on Russia, suggesting it is a “turning point” in peace efforts in the over three-year-long war in Ukraine.
“This last week was a turning point,” she said Thursday during a panel moderated by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
“I think the best news that we could possibly give to the Ukrainian people is that the U.S. and Europe have finally aligned around the idea that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin will not be stopped with words,” Rice continued later. “He will only be stopped if he believes that he can go no further, he can win no further.”
Her analysis comes just days after Trump said the U.S. would impose “severe” sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin did not agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine within “50 days.” He also indicated that a “secondary” tariff — as high as 100 percent — could be added that would target nations importing oil and gas from Moscow.
“We’re very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” Trump said on July 14 during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
The move came after pressure from defense hawks in Congress, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who introduced bipartisan legislation earlier this year to implement tougher sanctions on Putin’s government. The two hailed the president’s tougher stance on Russia.
Rice, during the Thursday panel, acknowledged that enforcing secondary sanctions could be difficult — pointing to top Russian allies such as China and India — but said the Kremlin would likely still feel some pain.
“If you’re China … with an economy that’s not in great shape … or India, which really doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of this, maybe you start thinking about whether that discounted Russian oil is really worth it,” she said.
Trump has in recent weeks aired frustration with the Russian president over lack of movement in peace talks. During his time on the campaign trail, he vowed to bring an end to the war quickly, but has since conceded it was more difficult than expected
In his remarks earlier this week, the president lamented on the struggle, pointing to the U.S.’s success in other ceasefire negotiations, including those in the Middle East and Africa.
“The only one we haven’t been able to get to yet is Russia. And I’m not happy. And I will tell you that Ukraine wants to do something,” Trump told reporters from the White House on Monday. “It’s all talk and then missiles go into Kyiv and kill 60 people. It’s got to stop. It’s got to stop.”
Despite the latest ultimatum, Russia has shown no signs of slowing down its military operation.
The Trump administration earlier this month agreed to send more weapons to Ukraine so the war-torn nation can defend itself against the continued onslaught. The move was a reversal from the Pentagon’s earlier decision to pause some transfers amid a review of the U.S. military stockpiles.
Trump also announced recently that the U.S. would provide Kyiv with Patriot missiles and that NATO would bear the brunt of the cost for the shipment of weapons.
Rice on Thursday criticized the Biden administration for taking too long to send weapons to the Ukrainian military after Russia’s invasion in 2022.
The Bush-era secretary of state told the panel that had the U.S. had given Kyiv “everything” at the beginning, when “Russians were on their back foot,” then Ukraine could have won the war “outright.”
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