Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy thinks “major concessions” need to be made to Russia in order to end the war in Ukraine—a war, he believes, doesn’t affect U.S. interests.
Speaking with ABC News anchor (and foreign policy expert) Martha Raddatz, Ramaswamy maintained his view that the war should not be a U.S. foreign policy priority. Instead, it should focus on diminishing the alliance between China and Russia.
“I think the job of the U.S. president is to look after American interests. And what I think the number one threat to the U.S. military right now, our top military threat, is the Sino-Russian alliance,” he told Raddatz. “I think that by fighting further in Russia, by further arming Ukraine, we are driving Russia into China’s hands, and that Sino-Russian alliance is the top threat we face.”
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He said he would only terminate U.S. military aid to Ukraine if Russia ends its alliance with China, leaving Raddatz to question Ramaswamy about how he would deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“How do you do this?! No one tells Vladimir Putin what to do!” Raddatz said. “That has not worked yet!”
She also noted that Ramaswamy has said he would allow Russia to take over the Donbas, a Ukrainian region partially occupied by Russia and a major contention point in the war.
“I don’t trust Putin,” Ramaswamy maintained. “But I do trust Putin to follow his self-interest. I don’t think he enjoys being the little brother in the relationship with Xi Jinping. So what I think we need to do is end the Ukraine war on peaceful terms that, yes, do make some major concessions to Russia, including freezing the current lines of control in a Korean war-style armistice agreement.”
Raddatz ended the conversation with an injection of reality, noting Ukraine “really wouldn’t want to” engage in the candidate’s plan. Ramaswamy agreed, acknowledging it would mean Ukraine would be banned from joining NATO—but the war would be over.
