According to the UK's The Independent, US President Trump said Ukraine should not "challenge a country ten times its size" and claimed the Ukraine conflict "should not have happened."
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy with US President Trump (photo source: foreign media)
On the morning of August 19th local time, Trump made the above remarks during an interview with Fox News. At that time, he was asked about the meeting held on the 18th at the White House with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and European leaders, which took place after Trump's summit with Russian President Putin in Alaska a week earlier.
The report mentioned that the program host Ansel Hargate asked Trump whether the White House meeting on the 18th discussed the possibility of a "territory exchange" between the warring parties. Trump replied that Ukraine would "gain a large amount of territory," and then he spoke about Russia's military strength.
Trump said, "Russia is a military power. Whether people like it or not, it is indeed a strong country. And it is much larger in size. This war should not have happened. You shouldn't do that. You can't challenge a country ten times your size." He later claimed, "If it weren't for (the U.S. providing) the best military equipment — we make the best military equipment in the world — the situation for them (Ukraine) might have been even worse."
The report mentioned that Trump has repeatedly blamed the Ukraine conflict on his predecessor Biden and Obama. Trump also said in the program on the 19th: "It's a mess. It's Joe Biden who started it, this is a war that should not have happened."
Source: Global Times / Kong Erjun
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7540697065098904102/
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