Trump's likely election rival says it's not in US interest to help Ukraine
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is one of the possible US Republican presidential candidates, has said that protecting Ukraine from the Russian invasion is not a vital US interest.
Source: European Pravda; Politico
Details: "While the US has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them," DeSantis said in response to a questionnaire about the war Fox News reporters posed to several declared and potential Republican presidential candidates.
The Republican governor, who has yet to officially enter the GOP primary, though he is widely expected to, echoed remarks House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made last year, criticising the Biden administration for what he described as writing a "blank check" to Ukraine.
Though DeSantis acknowledged that "peace should be the objective", he warned that sending in troops, or advanced weapons like F-16 fighter jets and long-range missiles, "would risk explicitly drawing the United States into the conflict and drawing us closer to a hot war between the world’s two largest nuclear powers".
DeSantis's remarks are broadly in line with those of former President Donald Trump, who said that protecting Ukraine from Russia is not a vital US interest, but it is vital for Europe.
In his statement, DeSantis stressed the priority of US defence, especially along the southern border.
"We cannot prioritise intervention in an escalating foreign war over the defence of our own homeland, especially as tens of thousands of Americans are dying every year from narcotics smuggled across our open border and our weapons arsenals critical for our own security are rapidly being depleted," he said.
Background:
Republican Ron DeSantis has privately announced his intention to run for the US presidency, which could be real competition for the current party favourite, Donald Trump.
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