It is "very unlikely" a compromise will come from the third round of peace talks that would stop Russia's attack on Ukraine because Russian President Vladimir Putin has not achieved his objectives — "even though we don't know what they are" — that led to the invasion, former ambassador and National Security Adviser John Bolton said Monday on Newsmax.
Further, Bolton told "National Report," the credibility of Russia's military has been called into question because Russia has "made a lot of mistakes in this war, strategically, tactically, operationally," and that means Putin will double down on his efforts.
"I don't see negotiations in the near term, other than perhaps these humanitarian corridors by which civilians might get away from the conflict," said Bolton.
Investigating, or even charging Putin with violations of war crimes also will not deter him, said Bolton.
"When we speak about war crimes, it's a powerful statement that has significant moral implications," said Bolton. "By the time somebody got around to trying these war criminals, the war would long since be over, and Putin knows that. He's absolutely undeterred by that kind of argument."
The real deterrent, said Bolton, will be if the United States and NATO can impose enough of a cost on Russia to make the point that the war will cost it more than it has been worth.
"Let's be clear, the Biden administration failed badly, and we're still seeing the consequences of that failure to deter the invasion in the first place," said Bolton. "Now they talk about energy; maybe they'll do this, maybe they'll do the other thing. What happened to the swift and severe and stunning sanctions that they promised beforehand?"
And with the sanctions being "rolled out piecemeal," the Russians can adapt and mitigate them, said Bolton.
"So I'm afraid for all this talk of NATO unity, and there's a lot of patting ourselves on the back about NATO unity, the effect in Ukraine is hard to find," he added.
Bolton also on Monday said he does not believe the use of NATO forces, in the form of providing air cover or other means, will lead to general war in Europe.
"I don't think that's necessarily the case," he said. "If it is, Putin already has a pretext. He can say that since the U.S. is supplying intelligence to Ukraine, we're supplying weapons. Russians are dying as a result of both of those things."
Bolton added that he is "wholeheartedly" in favor of continuing to supply weapons and intelligence, but "we've got to be more creative about what we can do."
He also said he's glad to see the humanitarian, no-fly zone in the Western part of Ukraine, but still, United Nations estimates are saying that just under 2 million Ukrainians have fled their country, so "this is a huge humanitarian tragedy in the making."
Bolton continued that he doesn't think Putin sees any "upside" to launching an attack on NATO forces, and he thinks the Russian leader still sees time as being on his side."
"Americans are impatient, which can be good and can be bad, but I think Putin is a lot more patient than we are, and he's prepared to grind this out," said Bolton. "What that means, if it continues, is more loss of life, more destruction, more chaos inside Ukraine."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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