Stopping Putin in Ukraine serves U.S. national security interests — U.S. diplomat Pifer

This view was expressed by American diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer during an interview with Antin Borkovskyi, host of the Studio West program on Espreso TV.

"First, I very much disagree with how the Trump administration, how Mr. Trump, has discussed the Russia-Ukraine war," Pifer said. 

"This is not a fight between two kids. This is a neo-imperialist war of aggression that Russia launched against Ukraine. That is clear. What I worry about is that the Trump administration seems to believe this war has no bearing on American interests. Even if one sets aside the relationship with Ukraine, if Russia prevails, if Russia wins the war in Ukraine, it becomes a much greater threat to both Europe and the United States. I am concerned that Mr. Trump does not recognize this."

In Pifer’s view, stopping Putin in Ukraine is not only vital for Ukraine’s survival, but also directly aligns with U.S. national security interests. However, he expressed serious doubts about whether Donald Trump fully understands this. There is growing concern that, under Trump's leadership, U.S. support for Ukraine could be significantly scaled back or even halted entirely.

"When I look at the last five months and consider how Mr. Trump has spoken about the war, I see that he has refused to use the leverage he could have applied to push Russia toward a more accommodating negotiating position. Instead, he has made a series of concessions to Russia. For example, he agreed in principle to meet with Putin even though for the past three years Western leaders have boycotted such meetings. He is working to normalize relations with Russia," the diplomat noted.

According to Pifer, over the past four months at the UN General Assembly, the United States has voted alongside Russia against resolutions on the war against Ukraine solely because the documents explicitly identified Russia as the aggressor.

"Despite all of these gestures and other concessions made to Russia, the United States has received nothing meaningful in return. We have seen no shift in Russia’s negotiating position, which remains essentially a list of demands that amount to Ukraine’s capitulation. That does not serve American interests, and I am concerned that Mr. Trump does not fully grasp how this war affects both American interests and American security.

I hope that he will change his view because I believe the kind of support the United States provided during the Biden administration, even though I wish it had been more, is very much in the interest of the United States as well as in the interest of Ukraine," Pifer concluded.

• On July 3, U.S. President Donald Trump held a separate telephone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. During the call, the U.S. president reportedly raised the issue of ending the war in Ukraine. In response, the Kremlin leader stated that Russia "will not give up on eliminating all the root causes of the confrontation."
• On July 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke by phone with President Trump, with a particular focus on air defense and the protection of Ukrainian airspace.
• Chancellor Merz has reportedly expressed concern over a possible connection between Trump's call with Putin and Russia’s intensified strikes on Ukraine.