US President Donald Trump's ultimatum to Russia is a "turning point" in peaceful efforts to end the war in Ukraine. This opinion was expressed by former Secretary of State (2005-2009) Condoleezza Rice, writes The Hill.
"The last week was a turning point", she emphasizes.
"The best news we can tell the Ukrainian people is that the United States and Europe have finally come to a common understanding that Vladimir Putin cannot be stopped with words. "He can only be stopped if he is certain that he cannot go any further, that he cannot win," the former Secretary of State said.
Her statement comes after Trump threatened that the US would impose “severe“ sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin does not agree to a ceasefire within 50 days.
At the same time, Rice acknowledged that imposing secondary sanctions could be difficult, citing key Russian allies such as China and India, but said the Kremlin would still have a hard time.
"If you're China... with an economy that's not in the best shape... or India that really doesn't want to be on the losing side, you might wonder if it's really worth buying Russian oil at discounted prices," she said.
Rice also criticized the administration of former President Joe Biden for being too slow to deliver weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces after the Russian invasion in 2022.
The secretary of state under George W. Bush told the committee that if the US had given Ukraine "everything" right from the start, when "the Russians were in a difficult position", Ukraine could have won the war "with complete defeat".
Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine
Since all previous efforts by the American president failed, he decided to change his position towards his Russian counterpart and threatened him with draconian sanctions if he did not agree to a ceasefire within 50 days.
Despite Trump's ultimatum, Russia shows no signs of slowing down its war against Ukraine.
The Trump administration previously agreed to supply more weapons to Ukraine. This step reversed the Pentagon's decision to halt some arms deliveries.
Trump also announced that the US would supply Patriot missiles to Ukraine, with NATO bearing the bulk of the cost of supplying the weapons.
Source: www.focus-news.net