Breaking: John Bolton calls Trump’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war an ‘embarrassment for the US….See More

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations and former National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump during his first term, John Bolton explained why he said Trump effectively switched sides when it came to the war in Ukraine.

In an interview on GNT presented by Tom Burges Watson on Al Arabiya News, Bolton said Trump had named the wrong person when he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator,” instead of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and disagreed that Ukrainian provocation started this war instead of Russian aggression – as the Trump administration has proclaimed.

But according to Scottie Nell Hughes, Republican strategist and political commentator, Trump is simply, “bringing people to the table.”

Speaking on the same show, she said: “That’s all Donald Trump is doing diplomatically. And at this point, Trump has said since day one on the campaign trail, is that he wanted to end the war… And he wants to bring peace to the situation.”

Bolton also said the US having voted with Russia, Belarus and North Korea against a European resolution at the UN General Assembly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine leaves the US on one side and its NATO allies on the other side, which is “unthinkable for any other president, really an embarrassment for the United States.”

Lack of strategy
The former security advisor said the real problem is that Trump does not have an overarching national security strategy or philosophy and is unable to understand the entirety of what is at stake.

Pointing to the US president’s comments about how Ukraine will not be restored to its full sovereignty and territorial integrity, that Ukraine will not be offered NATO membership, and that the US will not provide security guarantees in a post-settlement environment, Bolton said these are all Russia’s positions – which Trump has handed to Putin without demanding for anything in return.

The only complaint the Kremlin has about what Trump has said is they’re probably kicking themselves for not having asked for more earlier because they likely would have gotten it,” he added.

Stance on NATO
In terms of Ukraine’s membership to NATO, Bolton said it would be a grave mistake for the US to agree to a settlement that left Ukraine vulnerable.

The entire NATO alliance didn’t perform well in 2014, the first time Russia invaded Ukraine. And that was a basis on which the Kremlin could conclude that they could probably do it again and get the same reaction,” he added, clarifying that appeasement does not work.

He warned that an inadequate settlement on Ukraine’s membership to NATO would allow Russia time to repair its badly battered armed forces, build back its economy, and sufficiently prepare for a third invasion of Ukraine or even expand its invasion of other former republics from the Soviet Union.

Friendship or national interest
Bolton said Trump disliking Zelenskyy is bad news for Ukraine because the US president believes that if he has good relations with a foreign head of state, then the US has good ties with that specific country.

“Personal relations are a part of it, obviously, but ultimately matters of state are determined by national interest. And Trump really doesn’t understand what America’s national interest is,” Bolton added.

On the other hand, he described that while Trump considers Putin a friend, it is a friendship that the Russian leader exploits. In the guise of a good relationship, he said that Putin is manipulating Trump to influence decisions in favor of Russia.