John Bolton, a former national security adviser during President Donald Trump's first administration, on Sunday said he is skeptical about the president's approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of their upcoming meeting in Alaska, warning it could undermine Ukraine and the Western alliance while giving the Russian leader too much control.
"I think Trump has made some mistakes already," Bolton said in an interview with ABC News' "This Week," commenting that holding the meeting on American soil means that Trump is legitimizing Putin, the "pariah leader of a rogue state."
Trump is also allowing Putin to get the upper hand by putting his peace plan on the table before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has an opportunity to present his, said Bolton.
He added that Trump had already suggested Ukraine might have to amend its constitution to cede territory, an idea Zelenskyy has "flatly rejected."
The summit, planned for Friday, will also give Putin the chance to restore his rapport with Trump, said Bolton.
"What Putin gets more than anything else is an opportunity, one on one, to try and get his magic working again with Trump, applying that KGB training," he added. "What Putin wants to get is the relationship back with Trump. We'll see if he gets it."
Bolton further warned that Trump, by discussing parts of Putin's plans before the negotiations open, is risking pressuring Zelenskyy into accepting terms that are favorable to Moscow, not Ukraine.
"I don't think you negotiate under the circumstances that are being presented," he said, criticizing both the United States and NATO for lacking "an effective strategy for Ukraine to win" over the past three and a half years.
Bolton on Sunday also questioned Trump's commitment to sustained military aid for Ukraine and dismissed his recent threats of sanctions on Russia as being largely symbolic.
Trump proposed sanctions on India for buying Russian oil, but no similar measures were aimed at China, which imports more Russian energy, Bolton said.
Bolton further on Sunday dismissed Trump's recent international agreements, including deals between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Congo and Rwanda, and Cambodia and Thailand.
"I don't think what he has done materially changes the situation in any of those circumstances," he said, suggesting that Trump's motivation was personal recognition.
"I think what Trump has done is make it clear that he wants the Nobel Peace Prize more than anything else," he said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.