"Tough" diplomacy, not unlimited funding for Ukraine, is the key to ending its war with Russia, Ric Grenell, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany said on Newsmax on Thursday.
"Every single war is going to end with some sort of a peace deal, so we need to start working on this peace deal," Grenell told "Wake Up America." "I don't understand why Antony Blinken, our secretary of state is not offering ideas."
He further commented that he listened to commentary by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink on Wednesday, and "she was talking like she worked at the Pentagon."
"She was talking like a warmonger about war and missiles, and that's not what diplomats are supposed to do," said Grenell. "I want to see tough diplomats talking about peace deals and pushing people to the table and away from war. That's what we need at the State Department."
Democrats, however, "like to make fun of tough diplomacy," Grenell added. "They think we're mean to our allies and to others when we're tough, but I think that having tough diplomats means you avoid war."
His comments come in response to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece stating that the fate of U.S. funding for Ukraine falls to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The article states that if Johnson, R-La., can't find a way to get 218 votes for Ukraine, he should stress that the matter is one of "individual conscience," which would free Republicans who support the aid to join with Democrats for a discharge petition that could allow a vote for the Ukraine aid bill.
"I'm not sure that the question is we have to make sure that Ukraine gets the funding they need," Grenell told Newsmax. "First of all, I'll start by saying we all know that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is a madman. We don't want to support him. But he's supporting Joe Biden. He wants Joe Biden to win the presidency."
He added that the American people should be thanked for giving hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine, but at the same time, he said wars aren't only won by money.
"We don't want to get ourselves into this 20-year, Iraq-Afghanistan example here," Grenell said.
Meanwhile, Grenell ridiculed House Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who called on CNN for Republicans to end the investigation on President Joe Biden after reports that one key witness may be a Russian disinformation agent.
In his remarks, Raskin insisted there is no Russia hoax, despite claims by former President Donald Trump and his supporters.
"Well what's the hoax?" asked Raskin. "Is it the brutal invasion of Ukraine, and the tens of thousands of Ukrainians who've died? Is it the death of [Alexei] Navalny that's the hoax? What exactly is the hoax they're talking about?"
"That's just a pathetic answer," said Grenell. "He needs to go back and look at the history of Vladimir Putin when it comes to American presidents because Putin didn't invade when Donald Trump was president. He did it when Democrats were president."
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