A former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine said he did not expect peace to result from talks between Russia and Ukraine on the Belarusian border.
"No, I suspect all it will be is a place for the Russians to say, 'Surrender, accept our terms,'" former Ambassador John Herbst told Fox News on Monday.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's got all these troops in Ukraine. He's going to play this out."
Ceasefire talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials began Monday, as Russia faced deepening economic isolation four days after invading Ukraine in the biggest assault on a European state since World War II.
Although some people believe Ukrainian resistance has forced Putin to seek peace, Herbst, who served as ambassador to Ukraine 2003-06, believed otherwise.
"I think that's why [Putin's] going to push harder," Herbst told Fox News. "If we're in this situation two or three months from now, Russia might be realistic about its prospects. But as long as he thinks he can win, and he's only committed about half of Russians forces on the border to the fight. So, I think, unfortunately, it's going to have to play out over the longer [period]."
It was reported Sunday that Putin ordered that Russian nuclear forces be put on high alert — a move, Herbst said, that deserves a U.S. response.
"I think we need to send a very clear message that we have nukes, too," Herbst said. "And we're not going to be intimidated."
The ambassador pointed out that the U.S. and Russia faced the possibility of a nuclear conflict three previous times— over Berlin twice (1948 and 1961) and Cuba (1962).
"We defended our interests [each time]. We were not intimidated," Herbst said. "Putin's trying to intimidate us."
Herbst was asked about U.S. capability to shoot down nuclear warheads.
"Our defenses can be, I think, overwhelmed, as can be the Russian defenses," Herbst said. "So, that's the deterrence. They know if they launch, they will be destroyed as surely as we will be."
Herbst said NATO partners were responding sufficiently to help stop Russia's attack on Ukraine, especially with Germany's decision to send anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles to the Ukrainians.
The ambassador added that sanctions imposed on Russia will "make them feel a great deal of pain over time and weaken their military."
"I just think we need to find ways to get more weapons into Ukraine," Herbst told Fox News, "make sure we have steady supply so the Ukrainians have things with which to stop Russian tanks."
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