‘Putin Is Not Our Friend’: Ted Cruz Draws Red Line on Ukraine War Peace Deal, Demands ‘Clear Loss’ For Russia
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has left no doubt about his red line when it comes to conditions to end the war in Ukraine, demanding any outcome result in “a clear and unequivocal loss for Russia.”
Cruz’s comments during an interview with ABC News host Juju Chang came in the wake of a chaotic Oval Office showdown between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump.
The Friday meeting, which also included Vice President JD Vance, quickly went off the rails, stalling a rare earth minerals trade deal and exposing deep divisions over U.S. support for Ukraine.
Zelensky, pressing for security guarantees, asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not be trusted to uphold any ceasefire, remarks that drew the ire of Vance who accused the Ukrainian leader of “litigating” in front of the media, and never saying “thank you” for U.S. support.
In an interview recorded with Chang before Trump’s decision late Monday to suspend all U.S. military to Ukraine following his row with Zelensky, Cruz left no doubt about his position.
When asked about his take on the Oval Office meeting, Cruz replied:
Well, listen, I’ve done two entire podcasts on verdict devoted to what happened with President Zelensky in the Oval Office. And I have to say, I think President Zelensky behaved abominably. This will go down in history as the most disastrous Oval Office meeting that has ever happened. And President Zelensky came in and decided, apparently, it was a good strategy to attack President Trump to pick a fight with President Trump. And I think that was a serious mistake. I think it was a catastrophic mistake, and I think it did real damage to to Ukraine by doing that. In my view, we had an election in November.
Cruz went on to praise Trump for his pursuit of an end to the war but maintained his insistence on “unequivocal” Russian defeat.
It was very clear that President Trump was campaigning on ending the war in Ukraine. I believe the war in Ukraine was caused by Joe Biden’s weakness and his appeasement. But I think the war has gone on long enough and President Trump was very clear this war should come to an end.
I’ll tell you, Juju, what I have urged President Trump is that the war in Ukraine should come to an end, but it should come to an end in a way that is a clear and unequivocal loss for Russia and loss for Putin. Russia is not our friend. Putin is not our friend. And I believe it’s important that at the end of this war be a clear loss for Russia.
Watch above via ABC.
