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Donald Trump risks becoming a “cheerleader for Russia” in its war in Ukraine, the former defence secretary has warned after the US president confirmed he is prepared to walk away from peace talks.
Ben Wallace, who was defence secretary between 2019 and 2023, said Mr Trump could become a “bystander” if he pulls out of the peace process.
His comments come after Mr Trump doubled down on Washington’s threats to abandon talks aimed at brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine if there are no signs of immediate progress.
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“Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘you’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people, and we’re going to just take a pass,” the president said on Friday.
“But hopefully we won’t have to do that,” he added.
“I think he [Trump] is prepared to walk away because he is not actually very good at doing deals, and I think he will want to shift on from the focus that he promised he would finish this in 24 hours,” Mr Wallace told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “At the moment it looks like he will be spectacularly unsuccessful. I think he will want to change the subject and focus on China.”
He argued that Mr Trump has to offer Ukraine an incentive to compromise with Russia, while arguing Europe could offer Kyiv the support it needs if the US pulls its backing.
He said: “If he genuinely wants to solve this the US has to be prepared to lead by putting assets or skin in the game. And If it doesn’t it just effectively becomes a bystander … that many in Europe are starting to think is a cheerleader for Russia.”
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And Mr Wallace added: “We are a sizeable bloc of economies, some of the richest countries on Earth. If Europe wants to do something about this and solve it, it can step up further.
“It is going to be very hard anyhow, because as soon as Donald Trump went to the White House he actually gave Russia hope … that they might be able to win or get everything they want.”
Mr Trump’s remarks came after US secretary of state Marco Rubio warned on Friday that the White House may move on unless there are signs of progress.
We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not, Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on. It’s not our war. We have other priorities to focus on,” Mr Rubio said.
Asked about the comments, Mr Trump said his ally was “right”, and went on to deny that either the Russian or Ukrainian governments were “playing” him.
