White House national security adviser John Bolton on Sunday pushed back on a report that President Donald Trump is leaving the door open to recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
In an interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Bolton reacted to Trump remarking Friday the administration is “going to have to see” if it’ll accept Russia’s claim on territory it seized from Ukraine in 2014.
“I think he's, I think the president often says ‘we’ll see’ to show that he's willing to talk to foreign leaders about a range of issues and hear their perspective,” Bolton said. “President [Vladimir] Putin was pretty clear with me about it and my response was we're going to have to agree to disagree on Ukraine.”
Pressed on whether Trump’s remark suggests he’s “looking to be friendlier with adversaries than our allies,” Bolton declared, “That’s nonsense.”
“I don't see that that's what the president has said,” he added. “I don't think that's what that comment means. There'll be a lot of discussion. There was discussion this past week at the European Council about the EU position on Ukraine. And this is a subject where there's been disagreement among the Europeans as well.”
“The president wants a strong NATO,” Bolton said. “If you think Russia's a threat, ask yourself this question, why is Germany spending less than 1.2 percent of its GNP. So when people talk about undermining the NATO alliance you should look at those who are carrying out steps that make NATO less effective militarily.”
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.