Moscow may be unwilling to hold talks over Ukraine as it is already on a steady path to total victory, Tommy Tuberville says
Russian President Vladimir Putin may have little incentive to negotiate with Western nations on ending the Ukraine conflict given that Moscow is “winning,” due to major blunders by Kiev and NATO, according to Republican US Senator Tommy Tuberville.
In an interview aired on ‘The Cats Roundtable’ on Sunday, Tuberville argued that the conflict “has been handled so badly by the Ukrainians and by NATO and the United States that Putin has got a foot in the door in doing whatever he wants to do.”
“Why would he want to negotiate with anybody?” the senator wondered, comparing Moscow’s advantage with that of a team on its way to a decisive victory in American football.
“Say it’s a football game and you’re [up] three touchdowns. Why would you want to do some kind of deal when you’re winning?” Tuberville, who was a college football coach, said.
Tuberville suggested that US President Donald Trump could have a chance to persuade Putin to engage. “President Trump has got his hands full trying to get Putin to the negotiating table,” the senator stated, arguing that the conflict is taking its toll on the Russian economy. “They’re tired of getting shot and killed and maimed,” he added.
Tuberville’s comments come as Russian forces have been steadily pushing back Ukrainian troops for months. On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its military had taken over the town of Velikaya Novoselka, in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a major logistics juncture it has described as Kiev’s “last stronghold” in southern Donbass.
Trump has vowed to bring a swift end to the Ukraine conflict, saying he wants to meet with Putin. The Russian leader has also signaled that he would be open to talks, but stressed that the ball is in Washington’s court.
Earlier media reports suggested that Trump’s team was considering a roadmap to peace that would involve freezing the conflict along the current front line and for Ukraine’s NATO membership ambitions to be suspended.
Moscow, however, has rejected the idea of freezing the conflict, arguing that doing so would give Kiev some breathing space to rearm for another confrontation. Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that a lasting peace is possible only if Ukraine commits to permanent neutrality, demilitarization and denazification.
