Trump 'is serious about ending Ukraine war', says former national security adviser as he blames Biden for the conflict

6 November 2024, 18:59 | Updated: 6 November 2024, 19:37

Fred Fleitz says Biden's 'incompetency led Putin to invade Ukraine'

Donald Trump is “serious” about ending the war in Ukraine, a former national security advisor for the president-elect has told LBC.

Fred Fleitz, the chief of staff of the National Security Council in Donald Trump's first administration, pinned the blame for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on Joe Biden.

He told LBC’s Andrew Marr that Trump will be “serious” about “ending the killing” in Ukraine amid suggestions the former president could use his relationship with Putin bring an end to the war.

It comes after Mr Trump stormed to a decisive victory in the presidential election against Kamala Harris, with the Republican on track to win the popular vote.

Read more: US election 2024 LIVE: Donald Trump wins in historic comeback - as Kamala Harris calls to congratulate him

Speaking on Tonight With Andrew Marr, Mr Fleitz said: “The Trump policies, which we call America first here in the US, would have prevented the Ukraine war.

“Joe Biden’s incompetent policies led to the war, made Putin invade, made the war worse and are preventing any peace process from taking place.

“I think the first way we can end this war is to have a president who is determined to do so,” Mr Fleitz added, claiming Mr Trump could be the person to bring peace to the region.

“What we have now by American and British politicians is to dump weapons in Ukraine endlessly but there’s no plan to end the war or to get to a ceasefire, this is not a strategy, this is virtue signalling.”

On whether Mr Trump will pick up the phone to call both Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to organise ceasefire talks, Mr Fleitz continued: “I do know that Trump wants to settle this conflict before January.

“And one way to do this is to engage in a dialogue and a big problem is there has been no dialogue between Biden and Russia since February 2022.

“We can agree that Putin is a war criminal and in a perfect world he would be arrested, but that’s not going to happen, heads of state need to be willing to negotiate with people we disagree with.

“Biden has closed the door to negotiations, President Trump will do better than that.” Donald Trump will do his best to “end the killing,” Fleitz added.

This comes after President Zelenskyy congratulated Mr Trump on his election win.

Taking to social media, he wrote: “Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump on his impressive election victory!

‘Trump created chaos because he fancied saying something to the cameras’

“I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine.

“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the “peace through strength” approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.

“We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership. We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States.

“We are interested in developing mutually beneficial political and economic cooperation that will benefit both of our nations. Ukraine, as one of Europe's strongest military powers, is committed to ensuring long-term peace and security in Europe and the Transatlantic community with the support of our allies.

“I am looking forward to personally congratulating President Trump and discussing ways to strengthen Ukraine's strategic partnership with the United States.”