South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds has rejected calls for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted to honor such a deal.
"As much as I would like to believe we can negotiate with a tyrant, I fear we might be deceiving ourselves," Rounds stated during the Halifax Security Forum on Friday, referring to Putin.
"Do you honestly think that if you offer him part of a free country, he’ll stop?" Rounds questioned. "I wish I could say there's an easy way out, but there isn't."
These remarks contrast with those of President-Elect Trump, who has previously claimed he could resolve the conflict within a single day.
Rounds also expressed frustration over the limited support provided to Ukraine in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion.
"I’m so frustrated that we haven’t been able to provide Ukraine with all the equipment and weapon systems they need to counter the tyranny coming from Russia," Rounds lamented, adding that his views do not reflect those of the incoming administration. "I wonder why we haven’t acted more decisively and quickly."
When approached for comment, the Trump transition team directed Newsweek to a statement from Communications Director Steven Cheung: "As President Trump has said on the campaign trail, he is the only person capable of bringing both sides together to negotiate peace and put an end to the war and the killing."
Rounds' comments came as Russian attacks on Ukraine intensified this week.
On Thursday, Moscow launched a hypersonic missile strike on Dnipro, a central Ukrainian city, targeting a military facility. The attack involved the experimental Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which is reportedly adaptable for both nuclear and conventional warheads.
In a televised address, Putin claimed the strike was in retaliation for Ukraine's use of U.S. and British long-range missiles, which have enabled strikes on targets within Russia. "No one in the world possesses such weapons," he asserted.
President Joe Biden recently approved the use of U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) for strikes on Russian territory, marking a significant policy shift. This decision, which had long been lobbied for by Kyiv, was justified by Biden as a response to the involvement of North Korean troops in the war.
"ATACMS will significantly enhance Ukraine’s ability to disrupt Russian operations deep behind the front lines," said Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukraine’s former defense minister, to the *Financial Times*. "These missiles allow us to target high-value assets that other systems cannot reach."
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