Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's statement that returning Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders is 'unrealistic' has sparked fierce criticism from Obama officials and Trump critics. They argue that his comments undermine U.S. leverage in potential peace negotiations with Russia and amount to premature concessions to Putin.
Obama officials and Trump critics are expressing outrage after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that a return to Ukraine 's pre-war borders with Russia is 'unrealistic.' Hegseth, addressing the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Belgium on Wednesday, declared that 'returning to Ukraine ’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.' He further urged Europe to provide Ukraine with security guarantees following the war, rather than the United States.
Critics of the Trump administration accused the secretary of prematurely relinquishing leverage ahead of potential peace negotiations with Russia. 'Putin is gonna pocket this and ask for more,' stated Brett Bruen, director of Global Engagement under the Obama White House, speaking to Fox News Digital. Hegseth emphasized on Wednesday that a 'durable peace' for Ukraine necessitates 'ensuring that the war will not begin again.' He asserted that 'The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.' He added, 'If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and not covered under Article 5. There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact. To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.' While there wasn't much surprise that the Trump administration doesn't currently support Ukraine's NATO membership, or that it believes Ukraine can reclaim all of its territory, including Crimea, critics argue that Hegseth voicing these beliefs just as President Donald Trump initiated peace talks effectively removed them as bargaining chips. 'Why would you unilaterally surrender on some of those key strategic issues? Even if Trump ultimately wants to give ground, at least get something in return,' Bruen explained. 'Anyone with any diplomatic experience would have said it is critical that we use this as part of our negotiation, as President Trump wants to have with Moscow. But the idea that we're simply going to announce all of the things that we are not going to do goes against 70 years of our diplomacy and our military strategy,' added Michael McFaul, ambassador to Russia under the Obama administration. McFaul questioned why the Trump administration seemed to be granting Russian President Vladimir Putin concessions – Ukrainian land and no NATO membership for Ukraine – before negotiations even commenced. Alexander Vindman, a Trump impeachment witness and former Europe director at the National Security Council, who remains a vocal Trump critic, characterized Hegseth's comments as 'complete capitulation to Putin' that legitimizes Russia's wars of aggression dating back to Georgia in 2008. 'This will embolden Putin and undermine the interests of peace in Ukraine and Europe. A major blow to U.S. national security,' Vindman asserted. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., added that Hegseth's comments demonstrate that 'Trump's foreign policy has always been Russia First. Never America and its allies first.' The defense secretary also called on Europe to 'take ownership of conventional security on the continent.' Hegseth stated, 'European allies must lead from the front. Together, we can establish a division of labor that maximizes our comparative advantages in Europe and Pacific, respectively.' These remarks came just before Trump spoke with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Kyiv. On Friday, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The conversation with Putin took place a day after the release of American Marc Fogel, who had been detained by the Kremlin. Trump viewed this as a sign of 'good faith' by the Russians. Meanwhile, Trump has begun pressuring Ukrainians to relinquish access to rare Earth minerals in exchange for security assistance. Bessent presented Ukraine with a draft deal exchanging aid for minerals on Wednesday in Kyiv, according to Zelenskyy. 'We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations,' Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday regarding his call with Putin. 'We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.' He announced that he would ask Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to lead negotiations
Ukraine Russia Pete Hegseth Donald Trump NATO Diplomacy Peace Negotiations Rare Earth Minerals
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