The meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday was vital because it showed the world, particularly Russia, that Trump is not abandoning Ukraine and remains “very committed to the peace process,” former Rep. Jack Kingston said on Newsmax Sunday.
“I think it’s very significant that the president met again with Zelenskyy, face-to-face without a bunch of advisers in there,” the Georgia Republican told Newsmax’s “Wake Up America Weekend.” “In that context, you can get a lot more done because you’re not guarded in what your conversation is.”
Trump, he added, has said repeatedly that “he’s concerned with the 5,000 people a day who die. I think that should be of universal concern as we mourn the loss of Pope Francis.”
Trump on Saturday posted on Truth Social that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is “tagging” him along while continuing the aggression against Ukraine, and Kingston said the message was directed to Putin specifically.
“He was saying to Putin, If you’re serious about this, you have to stop the firing of missiles and you have to stop the warfare,” said Kingston. “‘You have to get into a peace treaty for the time being while we negotiate a ceasefire and then let’s make some progress.’
Trump, though, is not like former President Joe Biden, and when he “says stop, he means it and he is very likely to back it up with a far more consequential result than just rhetoric,” Kingston added.
The former congressman further said that he disagrees with criticism that Trump has been “soft” with Putin.
“If you want to get Putin to come to the peace table and bargain, you can’t call him a war criminal, because that means as soon as there’s a peace agreement, he’s going to be prosecuted and probably executed,” said Kingston. “You can’t get somebody who’s in that situation to bargain on peace. So his rhetoric, I think, was to bring Putin to the table. And I think that’s being accomplished right now.”
And that could mean changes in the next few weeks that could be “very helpful in moving us toward peace,” said Kingston.
Secondary sanctions, said Kingston, will also help lead Russia to the bargaining table.
“When Russia is cut off and unable to do banking and finance on the world stage, they’re going to have no choice but to sit down.”
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