President-elect Donald Trump's national security adviser nominee, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., noted on Sunday that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whom Trump met with at Mar-a-Lago this week, has a good relationship with the Russians and Trump wants to end the war in Ukraine.
Not sparing any details on Trump's strategy to end the war in Ukraine, the prospective national security adviser did, however, note to CBS' "Face the Nation" that "Orbán has regular engagement with the Russians, and he clearly has a good relationship with President Trump."
Making no clear distinction between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Waltz added that "one is talking. Of course, we're going to continue to talk. And President Trump's made it clear he wants this war to stop."
The congressman concluded his point on the Ukraine-Russia war, stating that "the NATO secretary-general came here to Mar-a-Lago. He's talking about the Europeans taking a bigger role — whether that's on the ground or otherwise, after this conflict is over, and that's exactly what President Trump has been asking for."
According to the then-U.S. ambassador to Russia, and now CIA director Bill Burns, in 2008, he sent a memo to the heads of NATO, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the secretaries of defense and state, warning them that further eastward encroachment of the Cold War military pact in Europe would be taken by the Russians as a hostile act.
"Ukraine and Georgia's NATO aspirations not only touch a raw nerve in Russia, they engender serious concerns about the consequences for stability in the region," Burns wrote. "Not only does Russia perceive encirclement, and efforts to undermine Russia's influence in the region, but it also fears unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences which would seriously affect Russian security interests.
"Experts tell us that Russia is particularly worried that the strong divisions in Ukraine over NATO membership, with much of the ethnic-Russian community against membership, could lead to a major split, involving violence or at worst, civil war. In that eventuality, Russia would have to decide whether to intervene; a decision Russia does not want to have to face."
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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