Bolton: Rubio remarks on Europe, Ukraine ‘total nonsense’
Former national security adviser John Bolton on Wednesday said Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statements warning against sanctioning countries that purchase Russian oil is “total nonsense.”
Bolton, responding to comments Rubio made earlier, said the U.S. needed to take a leading role in sanctioning Russia.
“Saying we‘re going to wait for the Europeans is like saying we‘re going to wait for Godot. They‘re not going to provide it,” Bolton said during a Wednesday appearance on CNN’s “News Central.”
“And if we don‘t provide it, the war in Ukraine will continue to move slowly and at a high cost in Russia‘s favor. That‘s what Putin is counting on,” he added.
Rubio earlier on Tuesday in a interview with NBC argued against the sanctions, saying that the United States is the only nation with the ability to engage both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in peace talks.
“The minute we go heavy on the sanctions and everything else, our ability to act as a broker to bring about peace is diminished, and this war then goes on for another two years and hundreds of thousands of more people will die,” he told Craig Melvin of NBC’s “Today.”
“So we’re trying to avoid that. We hope to avoid that,” Rubio added, after slamming European countries for continuing to purchase Russian oil.
Bolton argued the the war has spiraled in a negative way since the president’s meeting with Putin in Alaska.
“Since the Alaska summit with Trump, he‘s acted like he‘s had a free hand,” Bolton told host Kate Boudan, speaking of Putin. “And I‘m afraid his perception of reality in Ukraine is accurate at this point.”
While Rubio indicated he did not think the U.S. should step up against sanctions right now, he said the Trump administration’s stance could change in the future.
“I think we’ve always known that his [Putin’s] intentions are to take Donetsk, for example, and he’s defined that openly. I think the hope we have, since we’re the only country in the world that can really talk to both countries involved in this – we’re the only ones that can talk to Ukraine and Russia, and everyone’s encouraged us to play that role. At some point that role might end,” Rubio said on Wednesday.
“As you can see, the President’s already repeatedly expressed his deep disappointment at the direction that Putin is taking this, even after Alaska. And at some point he may have to decide to impose new sanctions.”