Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker said Monday that while President Donald Trump is pushing forward a serious peace framework to end the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears poised to sabotage it.
Appearing on Newsmax's "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" on Monday, Volker highlighted what he called a striking disconnect between how Trump has publicly described Putin's intentions and Russia's ongoing actions on the ground.
Volker noted that Trump has said Putin wants peace and stability and wants Ukraine to succeed.
Trump repeated those views during a recent press conference at Mar-a-Lago with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
But Volker said the reality tells a very different story.
"All the evidence is to the contrary," Volker said, pointing out that Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine and continues to bomb Ukrainian cities.
He emphasized that Russian forces are still attacking nightly, targeting civilian infrastructure and attempting to cripple Ukraine's electricity grid.
In Volker's view, these actions directly contradict the idea that Putin is sincerely seeking peace.
"So there's a big disconnect between the credence that President Trump seems to give Vladimir Putin and what we actually see with our own eyes," he said.
Despite that concern, Volker argued that Trump's broader strategy is constructive and could ultimately clarify the path forward.
He said Trump is succeeding in aligning the United States, Ukraine, and Europe around what a realistic and reasonable peace settlement would look like.
Central to that effort is a 20-point peace framework currently being discussed with Ukrainian officials at Mar-a-Lago.
Volker described the plan as a serious negotiating position that reflects Western unity and lays out clear expectations.
"This is good," Volker said, because it allows the U.S. and its allies to present Russia with a proposal that is fair and workable.
While Volker expressed strong confidence that Putin would reject the plan, he said that outcome would still be valuable.
"If Putin rejects it, that clarifies what the actual situation is," Volker explained. "In other words, it would expose Russia as the obstacle to peace, not the West or Ukraine."
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