Putin Was Weakened By Wagner Forces Munity – Trump

Former US President Donald Trump has stated that an aborted rebellion has “somewhat weakened” Vladimir Putin.

According to Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for 2024, now is the time for the US to try to mediate a negotiated peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.

“I want people to stop dying over this ridiculous war,” Trump told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday, June 29.

“You could say that he’s (Putin) still there, he’s still strong, but he certainly has been I would say somewhat weakened at least in the minds of a lot of people,” he said.

If Putin were no longer in power, however, “you don’t know what the alternative is. It could be better, but it could be far worse,” Trump said.

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Regarding the International Criminal Court’s charges of war crimes levelled against Putin in March, Trump stated that Putin’s fate should be discussed once the war is ended, “because right now if you bring that topic up, you’ll never make peace, you’ll never make a settlement.”

In terms of Ukraine, Trump did not rule out the possibility that the Kyiv administration would have to relinquish some land to Russia in order to end the conflict, which began with the Russian military invading Ukraine 16 months ago. Everything, he continued, would be “subject to negotiation” if he were president, but Ukrainians who have fought valiantly to defend their country had “earned a lot of credit.”

“I think they would be entitled to keep much of what they’ve earned and I think that Russia likewise would agree to that. You need the right mediator or negotiator, and we don’t have that right now,” he said.

“I think the biggest thing that the U.S. should be doing right now is making peace – getting Russia and Ukraine together and making peace. You can do it,” Trump said. “This is the time to do it, to get the two parties together to force peace.”

Trump went on to say that China should be given a 48-hour deadline to vacate a Chinese espionage post on the island of Cuba, 90 miles (145 kilometres) off the coast of the United States.

He threatened to apply fresh tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing did not accept his 48-hour deadline for shutting it down.

“I’d give them 48 hours to get out. And if they didn’t get out, I’d charge them a 100% tariff on everything they sell to the United States, and they’d be gone within two days. They’d be gone within one hour,” Trump said.

When asked if the US would intervene militarily to defend Taiwan if China invaded the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own, he said, “I don’t talk about that. And the reason I don’t is because it would hurt negotiating position. All I can tell you is for four years, there was no threat. And it wouldn’t happen if I were president.”