Kurt Volker, former U.S. ambassador to NATO, told Newsmax on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine is pushing his country near the "breaking point."
Volker told "American Agenda" that analysts who say Putin wants to recreate the Soviet Union by taking territory in Ukraine are on the mark.
"That is exactly what his mindset is. And he is willing to push the Russian people and the Russian economy very, very far, almost to the breaking point, in order to try to achieve that," he said.
Volker said Putin appears to have little interest in the peace talks involving Ukraine and the U.S. since he doesn't think they are important.
"And he thinks that the West and Ukraine don't have the capability, don't have the resolve, don't have the patience to just keep fighting and to wait him out. I think there, he's wrong, though," he said.
But the impact the conflict is having on the Russian people, military equipment reserves, and fighting-age soldiers is reaching a critical point, Volker said.
"I think that the noose is tightening. The grip is tightening around Putin." And economically, he said, Russia is in bad shape. "His economy is suffering. His military is also suffering. They have lost a lot of people."
Capable military replacements are nowhere to be found in Russia, Volker said.
"Those who have come in behind them are not as well trained and not as capable. They have not been able to take significant amounts of land in Ukraine, just incremental steps forward at a very, very high cost of personnel and equipment," he said.
The bottom line, he said, is a weakened Russia. But Putin hasn't hit that point yet.
"So I think it's getting tougher for Putin, but I still don't believe he's ready for peace talks yet," Volker said.
He added that if proposed secondary sanctions were imposed, countries such as China that buy energy from Russia would face 100% tariffs on products they export to the U.S., and he does not believe they'll take things that far to continue to help Russia.
The third round of Ukraine-Russia meetings, labeled "peace talks," opens Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey, as Putin and top Russian diplomats continued to lower expectations for any kind of a deal.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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