President Donald Trump will have to “trust but verify” Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet this Friday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
When asked if Trump believes that he can trust Putin, Whitaker said “Ronald Reagan taught us you have to trust, but verify. And so I think, in any situation with competing national interests, whether it’s the United States, Ukraine, Russia, or any of our allies, you just can’t take people at their face value. You’re going to look at actions.”
Whitaker emphasized that during previous discussions with the Russian president, “Trump has mentioned that he would have a good conversation with Vladimir Putin, and then, that night, rockets and drones would attack the major cities in Ukraine. And so it’s going to be about actions. Words are cheap.”
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