President Donald Trump will "walk away" from his upcoming talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin if he insists on reaching a "bad deal" on a ceasefire with Ukraine, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Saturday.
The South Carolina Republican, comparing the talks to the Cold War-era discussions between former President Ronald Reagan and then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, said he belives that Trump will react like Reagan did, reports The Hill.
"Good luck, Mr. President, in your efforts to end this brutal war," Graham added in his comments on X. "The world should be pulling for you. I know I am."
Trump announced Friday that he would meet with Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15 to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. The White House has not invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the meeting.
Trump said the talks will focus on a proposal that Eastern European nations exchange territory to speed up a peace deal. Zelenskyy has rejected the idea and has urged U.S. leaders to give Ukraine a role in the discussions. Trump also dismissed reports that he wanted Putin and Zelenskyy to meet before his summit with the Russian leader.
"He would like to meet with me," Trump told reporters Friday, referring to Putin. "I’ll do whatever I can to stop the killing."
The meeting comes amid criticism that Trump has not followed through on earlier threats to impose new sanctions on Russia. Trump initially gave Putin roughly 50 days to accept a ceasefire plan, later shortening the deadline as Russian strikes continued.
While Trump has not announced direct sanctions against Moscow, he recently imposed tariffs of up to 50 percent on India for purchasing Russian oil, coinciding with closer ties between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Putin.
Modi wrote on X after a recent phone conversation with Putin that he "Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine. We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. I look forward to hosting President Putin in India later this year."
The tariffs were part of a bipartisan measure spearheaded by Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., intended to reduce Russia’s ability to finance the war.
"Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country," Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this month.
He has not imposed similar sanctions on China, another key Russian trading partner.
Graham also defended Trump’s decision to meet with Putin before pursuing additional sanctions.
"To those who criticize President Trump for being willing to meet with Putin to end the bloodbath in Ukraine — remember Reagan met with Gorbachev to try to end the Cold War," said Graham.
Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Reykjavík, Iceland, for their historic summit in 1986.
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.
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