The best way to get a resistant Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table is through stricter enforcement of worldwide sanctions, especially those imposed by the U.S., retired U.S. Army Col. John Mills told Newsmax on Friday.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he didn't make any progress with Putin to end the war in Ukraine during a telephone conversation. Hours later, Russia conducted the largest aerial campaign of the more than 3-year-old war, reportedly launching 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine.
"Clearly, [Putin] wants to continue the fight," Mills told "Newsline" and guest host Tracy Sobol. "I think one of the key things is sanctions. There are sanctions and there is sanctions enforcement. We need to start enforcing the sanctions.
"The previous administration put lots of sanctions, especially on exports of Russian oil going on ghost tankers out the Baltic over the Arctic. We need to start enforcing sanctions, which means we use the U.S. Navy to stop ships, stop these ghost tankers."
Mills also said Putin is facing a threat from China, even though Beijing has provided financial assistance in the war with Ukraine without publicly supporting Russia's invasion. There have been reports of China seeking to annex Vladivostok, a port city in Russia's Far East that China handed over in 1860 as part of the Treaty of Peking, which set the eastern boundary between the nations.
"Russia needs to be very careful with all the instability in their senior partner, China," Mills said. "Their whole Pacific area, including the port of Vladivostok, looks very vulnerable because there's a lot of rumors about China maybe crossing the border and retaking land they lost in the 1800s. So Putin needs to pay attention and start negotiations."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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