Morning Joe contributor Sam Stein warned that Ukraine could be handed a “take it or leave it” peace deal when President-elect Donald Trump enters office, citing the Republican’s past amiable relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump, due to take office on January 20, promised to rapidly resolve the war in Ukraine. So far, however, he has not clarified any specific plan beyond insisting both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agree to halt the conflict.
Retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s newly appointed Ukraine envoy, told Fox News on December 18 that both parties appeared ready to begin peace talks. He also emphasized that Trump, by virtue of his dealmaking reputation, is well-positioned to orchestrate a settlement to end the war.
On Friday’s Morning Joe on MSNBC, host Jonathan Levine asked Stein about whether Trump’s “relationship” with Putin would impact what a peace negotiation and outcome would look like. Stein responded by arguing that Russia was at its weakest point but that Trump would give Putin the “benefit of doubt” and offer him a better deal that he would get under President Joe Biden.
[It] was always the Biden administration’s line… to have Ukraine at the table. It is their country. We can’t have direct negotiations with Russia.Donald Trump is different than Joe Biden. He’ll take a different approach here. He’ll have direct negotiations or talks at least with Putin. Zelensky will be included,
but my sense is that they’ll probably end up giving him a take it or leave it type deal.What is interesting here, just the state that Russia is in, heading into the negotiations. I’m sure Putin imagined he would have more of an upper hand [in the conflict] at this juncture. Surely he thought… but what we have seen over the last couple of weeks is really a staggering setback for Russia across the world – what is happening in Syria, Iran, their economic situation. If you read the headlines out of Russia it is fairly abysmal. All that said, it is not a great hand that Putin has to play and as David said, you know, the outgoing Biden administration is pumping weapons into Ukraine and weighing the possibility of additional sanctions to weaken Russia further.Trump could undo all of this, of course, but that would be a fairly politically precarious step to take right out of the gate. And so, yeah, I’m curious what he says directly with Putin, but if history is any guide, you imagine he’s going to give Putin the benefit of the doubt, try to get a deal done, because he’s on record saying he can get it done so quickly and then hand it to Zelensky and say take it or leave it.
Watch via MSNBC.