The meeting of Trump-Zelenskyy is “ First Hope ribbon that I had for some time ‘: the former national security advisor Jake Sullivan

The former National Security Advisor to the Blanche de Biden, Jake Sullivan, said that the meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome gave him on Saturday “the first ribbon of hope” that he said that he had had for some time in terms of the Approach of the War Administration in Ukraine.

“”[The meeting] Gives me the first ribbon of hope that I had had for some time because what I have seen to date is President Trump giving Vladimir Putin American the recognition of Crimea, which Russia occupied and annexed illegally. … He gave Putin a promise that Ukraine will not be part of NATO, and he gave Putin a promise that he can hold the whole territory he has illegally invaded and seized, “Sullivan” this week “Martha Raddatz told an interview on Sunday.

He continued: “What is Putin to him? Until now. But today, the fact that Zelenskyy has come out and said he was thinking that it was a good meeting, reminds me:” Ok, maybe President Trump sees that Putin leads him on the way to the garden. “And in fact, President Trump said publicly that this could be the case.”

Trump and Zelenskyy met in private in the Saint-Pierre basilica on Saturday before attending the funeral of Pope Francis in the city of the Vatican. It was the first time that the two leaders have met since their oval office meeting in February became a stormy argument in front of the cameras that led to the Kelenskyy of the White House.

Zelenskyy said on Saturday that it was a “good meeting” in an article on X, adding: “We discussed a single one.

And in a separate social media article after their meeting, Trump took a more critical tone towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, floating the possibility that he would impose new sanctions on Russia. The president also said that the recent Russian strikes on civil zones in Ukraine made it “think that perhaps [Putin] I don’t want to stop war, he just makes me hit. “”

Sullivan said: “Russia began this war, not Ukraine, and it is Russia – Vladimir Putin in particular – which is the main obstacle to obtaining a cease -fire, and there were times when it seems that the Trump President could have obtained this. Today can be one of those moments. Russia. I hope it will not happen again.”

Sullivan, who has not spoken much publicly since he left his post at the White House in January, told Raddatz that he “had remained silent”, in part because he “did not want to be a rear seat driver”.

“When I was in the seat, I had a lot of drivers on the back,” said Sullivan. “But when you see the car start to worry about the cliff, you have to say something.”

He continued: “What I saw in less than a hundred days were terrible damage to the credibility and confidence of America towards our friends and allies and terrible damage to the attraction of America in terms of political system, our markets and our innovation. And especially what I saw is China to harvest the advantages.”

Here are more protruding facts from Sullivan’s interview:

On the approach of the Trump administration to negotiate with Russia

Raddatz: When you were advisor to national security, the Biden administration went nowhere with this, with – with sanctions tried with – you did not engage with Russia. So now you say. It is normal to engage with Russia. When you look back, would you have done something differently?

Sullivan: Well, first of all, we got involved with Russia. We had several channels to speak to the Russians, and we talked to them through it –

Raddatz: But certainly not in the way they are now.

Sullivan: No, because one of the things we recognized while we were in power was that Putin was not prepared to come to the table at the time to conclude an agreement that would generate a piece just for Ukraine.

We have therefore admitted that we really had to build a lever effect for Ukraine and in the last months in power. We have increased military equipment, we tightened the sanctions, we seized the product of Russian assets and we made Europe accompany us and all this.

We therefore gave the new team a little lever effect for Ukraine to get a good deal at the table. I hope they do not end up waste this lever effect.

On new nuclear discussions between the United States and Iran

Sullivan: Look, when we left its duties … Iran was at its weakest point since the 1980s, perhaps since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. They had lost their main indicator, Hezbollah, they had lost their aerial defenses. We had defended Israel twice directly against Iranian missile attacks and shown that Iran could not really make serious damage to Israel.

Thus, the conditions were ripe for diplomacy and for an agreement. And I think there is a possibility that they can obtain an agreement. I think this agreement in its elements will not be too different from the agreement that President Obama and Secretary Kerry produced in the Obama administration that Donald Trump has torn. And I will find it very interesting to see that many criticisms of this agreement are manifested to support what Trump produces. But I myself believe that there should be a diplomatic solution here, and I believe that there is an achieveable.

On what the Trump administration has done

Sullivan: It is difficult in 100 days to offer a good example of this. I mean, there are things where they have advanced what we had –

Raddatz: Immigration?

Sullivan: – In motion. Yes, I mean, they have done some things about immigration, but honestly, when you equip him not to give regular procedures to people and send them – send them to the Salvadoral prisons of El, these damage is so much more important than what they could do.

I think there are certain steps with regard to the Houthis that I could really take. You know, we have taken military measures against the Houthis. They intensified this. I always believe that we have to connect this to a wider strategic end game with the Houthis. But it would be an area where I think there was a certain continuity.

On controversies around the defense secretary Pete Hegseth

Raddatz: You have certainly followed signal cats with your successor, Mike Waltz, accidentally giving this to a journalist, but also what Pete Hegseth sent an SMS on these signal cats to launch the F-18 and the hour they would be launched during attacks against Yemen. Is there-do you think these messages should be classified?

Sullivan: Listen, I think you heard intelligence professionals at all levels that it is classified information, but that underlines a wider problem, who is a close friend and advisor to secretary Hegseth left HegSeth Pentagon and wrote an article saying that the Pentagon is total chaos, and Donald Trump should replace Pete Hegseth.

It is a call from Clarion if I have already heard one. So, this signal problem is an example among many types of measures that we have seen in 100 days at the Pentagon which raise real questions about the future of this building and the future of our armed forces. And it is not me who says that it is his own friends and advisers.