I care about Ukraine's success as a country; I'd like to see the conflict resolved. I'd like to see us getting back to the idea we - you know, over many, many administrations, starting with George H.W. Bush and onward, we talked about a Europe whole, free and at peace. That we're looking to promote democratic societies, prosperous, market-driven societies and security for everybody, indivisible, including Russia. And we have never gotten there.
Kurt VolkerPeople want strength. They want American values. They want American interests. They want to be successful. And I'd say that's on both sides of the aisle, as well as any divisions even on the Republican side.
Kurt VolkerThe way I think of it is that Russia is not going to change fundamentally. They may change tactics; they may look at their interests and figure out what actions they take, but they're not going to change fundamentally. And they're going to try to gauge what will the responses be to things that they do, and what will our things be. And here, they do wonder what is the level of our resolve? How far are we willing to go? And that is something that is very hard to gauge.
Kurt VolkerIf we are going to have any improvement in U.S.-Russia relations - which I think should be an objective of the United States - we don't want to stay where we are. We'd like for this to be more constructive. Then we're going to have to see progress on Ukraine.
Kurt VolkerI actually think that the Russians are exploring the idea: Is it worth ending this conflict in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine, creating peace, getting out, and what would that look like? I don't think they're committed to it yet; I don't think they've made a decision one way or the other - but I think they're exploring it.
Kurt VolkerI care about Ukraine's success as a country; I'd like to see the conflict resolved. I'd like to see us getting back to the idea we - you know, over many, many administrations, starting with George H.W. Bush and onward, we talked about a Europe whole, free and at peace. That we're looking to promote democratic societies, prosperous, market-driven societies and security for everybody, indivisible, including Russia. And we have never gotten there.
Kurt VolkerTrump wants to make peace; he wants to see Ukrainian conflict resolved; he wants to see Ukraine get its territory back. It's crystal clear. With Putin, I think we see glimmers; we see a reason to think maybe they do. But they have to make the choice to do that, and they can very well choose the opposite.
Kurt Volker