Bolton: Trump plan to end war in Ukraine ‘pretty close to surrender’

I think Trump’s remarks and that of [Secretary of Defense] Pete Hegseth and others come pretty close to surrender,

he told Politico

John Boltonformer national security adviser

There’s no absolute obligation to have negotiations with a cease-ceasefire. So unless you’re prepared to give up on any possibility of Ukraine getting its territory back, the idea that you’re going to freeze the existing lines of control is potentially very dangerous."

Quote from Bolton

Is it to enforce a ceasefire, in which case the rules of engagement would have to authorise the peacekeepers to use force to keep the cease-fire from breaking down? Or is it a UN kind of peace force, where violators get waved at by the peacekeepers as they go merrily on their way

he asked rhetorically and stressed that these are critical differences

I’m against deploying a peacekeeping force. Experience with the United Nations has demonstrated that once you deploy a peacekeeping force, it can become a permanent part of the landscape, and in this case amount to a de facto partition of Ukraine that could become de jure after a period of time,

he said

John Boltonformer national security adviser

I thought Trump would withdraw from NATO and he hasn’t done that yet, but you can hear the music begin to play,

Bolton said

John Boltonformer national security adviser

It showed Rubio as a defender of NATO,

Bolton recalled

John Boltonformer national security adviser

He doesn’t do policy in the sense people normally understand that term,

said Bolton of the “chaotic” Trump

There’s no absolute obligation to have negotiations with a cease-fire,

he said

I’m against deploying a peacekeeping force,

he said