Despite a concerted push by the Trump administration to end the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible, Fred Fleitz told Newsmax on Tuesday that he does not see the conflict ending anytime soon.
The former CIA analyst and onetime National Security Council chief of staff told Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that "there is a significant sticking point, I understand, on Ukraine giving away territory it controls in the Donbas to Russia, which I don't think Ukraine's going to agree to."
Fleitz stressed that "the way I see this right now is I don't think Russia is ready for a deal. I think Ukraine is understanding through this process that there will be a deal eventually. It's going to be painful, and they're going to have to determine how much pain they want to endure."
He emphasized, however, that "I think a lot of sanctions will be necessary on Russia before we get there."
Fleitz also said it is good that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was involved in the Geneva negotiations. "I think there was confusion over these talks and what we were prepared to propose to Russia [and] Ukraine. Rubio cut through all of that, and I hope this means he will be taking the lead in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia from this point forward."
He also pointed out that "Rubio is now saying that this peace plan is sort of a set of ideas or a framework. He doesn't seem to think it is an ultimatum or that there is a deadline of Thanksgiving."
Fleitz reiterated that "my belief is that Russia will have to endure at least a year of very tough economic sanctions," emphasizing that "I don't think [President Vladimir] Putin is ready to stop the war right now, unfortunately."
Fleitz also discussed the Trump administration's decision to declare the Muslim Brotherhood chapters in the Middle East as foreign terrorist organizations.
He said that this move "is long overdue, and I don't know why there's been resistance within the Deep State in the U.S. government to doing this."
Fleitz said it has always been clear that the Muslim Brotherhood and its branches are "terrorist organizations that have been destabilizing nations around the world."
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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