ODESA, Ukraine — In the range of Russian rockets from Ukraine’s occupied Crimean Peninsula, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stood in Odesa and called for President Trump to reject recognizing Russian sovereignty over territory it seized by force.
Pompeo, who served as secretary of state during Trump’s first term, said if the U.S. recognized Crimea as Russian territory, it “would be a mistake of epic proportions,” speaking at the Black Sea Security Forum Saturday.
“I get the frustration … I’m not naive about what’s physically possible in this moment, but that doesn’t mean one should go and say, ‘and we are giving up for all time,’” he said.
“This is one of the things I hope to communicate,” Pompeo added.
The former secretary’s remarks comes as the Trump administration has weighed giving de jure recognition to Russia over territory it occupies in Ukraine as part of efforts to coax Moscow towards a ceasefire and peace deal with Kyiv.
There’s growing acceptance in Ukraine that it needs to enter into a ceasefire with Russia without liberating its territory, but Kyiv is pushing for its allies to hold back recognizing occupied lands as sovereign Russian territory.
Russia occupies about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory since launching a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. But it has maintained an occupation of the Crimean Peninsula since invading and illegally annexing it in 2014, along with the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk.
In 2018, Pompeo — during Trump’s first term — issued the Crimea Declaration “reaffirming U.S. policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law.”
While Trump has disavowed Pompeo as a member of his inner circle, the former secretary and CIA director told The Hill he is articulating to Republican allies on Capitol Hill why maintaining the Crimea Declaration is important and “the right thing to do.”
He mentioned Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally and Ukraine supporter, as one of those allies and said he saw him in Ukraine. Graham was in Kyiv with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) this week.
“There are many in my party, the Republican party, that have disappointed me deeply and have said things that are inconsistent with what I think are the deep American interests that we have here,” Pompeo said during a fireside chat during the conference.
“But I think they all also know, that, in the end, there’s no walking away from this for the United States,” he added.
Trump has routinely favored Russian President Vladimir Putin and exercised pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in efforts to bring the two sides together. But the U.S. president has also expressed frustration with Putin, calling the Russian leader “crazy” after the Kremlin launched its largest aerial bombardment against Ukraine between May 24 and 25.
In Odesa, Russian strikes against the city on May 23 — launched from Crimea — killed two people and injured seven others.
In a post on his social media site Truth Social earlier this week, Trump threatened Putin that he was “playing with fire” with his ongoing attacks against Ukraine.
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