Russian President Vladmir Putin's recent actions show he remains a force to be reckoned with, John Bolton told Newsmax on Thursday.
Bolton, National Security Adviser in the Trump administration and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told "Newsline" that Putin's recent visits to North Korea and Vietnam are part of Russia's increased cooperation with China.
"The axis they are forming, it's not completely in place," Bolton said. "There's still a lot of tension between the two countries."
Bolton said Russia is keeping its war with Ukraine going so it can get artillery and ammunition from North Korea. He said North Korea remains a threat in Northeast Asia.
"North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons is enormously dangerous to the U.S, Japan, South Korea," Bolton said. "We haven't dealt with this effectively in 30 years."
European and American sanctions against Russia have been a complete failure, said Bolton, who blamed it on the haphazard way they were put in place to try and prevent gas prices from increasing. During the recent G7 summit, Russia sent a nuclear-powered submarine to make port in Cuba.
"They were putting their thumb in our eye right in the middle of the G7 meeting and reminding countries in this hemisphere that Russia is still a force to be reckoned with," Bolton said. "We don't have a good answer for them when that happens."
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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