Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark told Newsmax on Monday that he’s encouraged to see the U.S. engaging with Russia while trying to end Moscow’s nearly there-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Clark also suggested on “American Agenda” another motive might in play by the Trump administration outside of a peace deal: pulling Russian President Vladimir Putin away from China’s influence and siding more with U.S. interests.
“The big picture on this is the United States is with Russia engaging,” Clark said. “And so, if you look at the world, it’s the United States, Russia and China. Is it possible, I’m just suggesting, is it possible that President Trump sees a way of bringing Putin back into the world community in such a way as to use Putin with us instead of Putin with China?
“I see a glimmer of that in the moves thus far.”
Clark, who was NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 1997 to 2000, said the broader implication of such diplomacy is to “create a greater deterrent” against China.
“We don’t want to go to war with China,” he said. “But [China President] XI Jinping has said he wants Taiwan by 2027. This administration has been very strong going against China, so it only makes sense. A lot of people have suggested maybe you can split Russia from China.
“The only caution that I would have as somebody who has worked with the Russians in the 1990s, and followed this thing very closely my whole career is, remember, Vladimir Putin is the most experienced statesman in the world today. He’s a former intelligence agent. He’s very smart. He’s got lots of connectivity. He knows the game. He sees what the motivations might be. So, he’s going to really work for Russia’s best interest in these negotiations. So, we have to be very, very strong in going into this.”
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