Today at 19:02
“I believe Donald Trump and his administration really want to end the war. But only if Ukraine emerges as an independent and European country,” – Mr. William Taylor, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine stated in the interview with UATV host Henry Keen.
As the new administration is trying to reduce the size of the government, a real attempt is being done too to end the war that Russia started. And this could be a good thing and a bad thing, depending on the details. To hear more from Mr. Taylor – read the full interview.
— Do you believe Donald Trump is acting in good faith and will for the United States and Ukraine and whatsoever, and he has a plan?
— Right, yes, I think the United States acts in good faith and I think this Administration… I think President Trump is genuinely trying to end this war. He said that over and over. I believe him, that he really wants to end this war. Now, that can be a good thing or a bad thing. That is, if it’s a good ending, if it’s a positive outcome for Ukraine, if Ukraine emerges from this negotiation, from this process, as a prosperous, democratic, independent, European nation that is secure, then that will be a good thing. And I think that’s what this Administration is after.
— Right. Well, Donald Trump just recently signed an executive order—that’s on Thursday, if I’m not mistaken—that instructs the US Education Secretary, Linda McM, to dismantle the Department of Education. Well, clearly attempting, maybe attempting, to circumvent the need to obtain Congressional approval to formally close a federal department. What is going on, sir?
— I mean, it’s hard to see from here, from Kyiv, Ukraine, as President Trump’s ceasefire that he recently negotiated with dictator Putin just doesn’t work yet, and we are under constant shelling. So maybe it’s the smoke that gets in my eyes. And you— I mean, could you talk us through the whole thing? What’s going on with that?
— There’s a lot of smoke in the air.
— Right, it’s not just your eyes. It’s not just your eyes. No, there’s a lot of smoke. There are several things going on. There are a lot of things going on here in Washington. One is a serious attempt to reduce the size of the US government, and that attempt is taking place across this city. I’m here in Washington, and across all the agencies, all looking at reductions in their force. So that’s going on, and it affects small agencies and big agencies.
— Okay, but the other thing that’s going on that we start out with is, I think, a real attempt to end the war that Russia has been inflicting on Ukraine for the last over three years. And that can be… as I say, that can be a good thing if it ends up positive for Ukraine. I mean, if I say that Putin does not want peace in Ukraine, would you agree with me?
— I would agree. We know—we’re pretty sure what Putin wants. He’s said it over and over, and he’s acted on this, and that is, he wants to dominate Ukraine, he wants to absorb Ukraine, he wants to eliminate Ukraine. So, yeah, I don’t think he wants peace until he has done that.
Nonetheless, I think President Trump and the Europeans and a strong Ukraine have the ability to push President Putin towards a ceasefire and then later towards a settlement of this.
But it needs to be strong leadership by the United States and strong efforts by the Europeans, and, of course, the continued strong resistance by Ukraine.
— When you say strong leadership, are you saying that is what the United States has now?
— Yes, the United States is leading this peace effort, this ceasefire effort. I think that’s true, and this is a more active attempt by this Administration, the Trump Administration, than the previous Administration to give President Biden credit. He organized a coalition of Western nations to support Ukraine for three years, and he provided a lot of weapons. Some people will say he didn’t provide enough or not fast enough, but nonetheless, President Biden was supporting Ukraine very strongly. However, he didn’t intervene to try to end the war.
President Trump is trying to intervene and end the war, and he’s working both with the Ukrainians and with the Russians to try to get that outcome.
— Alright. But contributing to that… okay, but scrapping, say, Europe’s senior-like commander position in particular, how far away is that from leaving NATO in general for the United States?
— I don’t believe that this Administration or any Administration is going to leave NATO. Yes, there have been a lot of efforts over many years to have the European nations, the European members of NATO, boost their own defense. That’s important, and it turns out they are now doing that. They are not only doing it in ways—they are organizing themselves into some kind of a European force, a European force, maybe within NATO.
But they’re also taking the next step, an important step, finding the money. They are looking for ways that they can actually fund this increase in their defense, increase in their European forces. They’re even talking about a European force to be deployed in Ukraine if the Ukrainian government invites it, to monitor and enforce a ceasefire. So, the Europeans are stepping up, and I don’t think the… I think that’s a good thing for NATO, and I think this Administration will recognize the European efforts and will support it.
— Yeah, well, I mean, at least Europe is capable of doing that, that’s for sure. But 27 trillion-dollar economy, you know, so hopefully… just a last question. I just recently asked it to John Herbst, your dear colleague, and maybe you know him. Obviously, you know him. So, the question is: If you would ever have a chance to advise… something, anything to President Trump, and you would know definitely that he will follow this advice, well, this advice could have…?
— First of all, I know John Herbst very well. I’m now associated with his Atlantic Council. I’m no longer associated with the Institute of Peace. But if I were able to give advice to President Trump, I would say support Ukraine until it wins. And winning means, what I said in the beginning—that is, a democratic, independent, sovereign, prosperous, secure nation on its way to the European Union. And I would even say to President Trump that, in the end, Ukraine ought to be in NATO.
Read also: Ceasefire is IMPOSSIBLE!’ Leutenatn-colonel Glen Grant
