It will "spell disaster" for the United States to allow China to negotiate the peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and it's being overlooked that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he's willing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping after hearing some of what's being proposed, former ambassador and acting national intelligence director Ric Grenell said on Newsmax Tuesday.
"Joe Biden marked the Chinese peace plan, saying this is just nothing but a giveaway to Russia, and Zelenskyy immediately came out and said, 'hm, China respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine. I'd like to talk to President Xi.'" Grenell, a senior national security advisor for Newsmax, said on the network's "National Report."
This means, "immediately, you had Zelenskyy undercutting Joe Biden," said Grenell. "You didn't hear this from the media in D.C. They all but ignored the fact that Zelenskyy undercut Joe Biden. This is a guy who is desperate to have a solution."
Zelenskyy, during a news conference last week, told reporters that “China historically respects our territorial integrity, and it should therefore do everything for Russia to leave the territory of Ukraine," and that he plans to meet with Xi, as this would "benefit our countries and security in the world," reports NBC News.
The Chinese peace plan calls for both sides to agree on a plan for gradual de-escalation, keeping nuclear facilities safe, establishing humanitarian corridors, and preventing attacks on civilians.
Meanwhile, China is winning because they were the ones who first came out with a peace plan, rather than the U.S. State Department and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said Grenell.
"The United States should always be at the forefront of pushing peace, not war and yet we've had a State Department that has literally been MIA," he continued. "The State Department has been shoved aside and the Pentagon has done nothing but just put forward more U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund a war."
Coming up with a plan will be "extremely difficult," Grenell conceded, but the Chinese plan is a "good start."
"It's got some good points in it, and it talks about territorial integrity," he said. "It's got some bad points to it, but it's a start. And what really infuriates me is that State Department hasn't been the one to take the lead. They've allowed China once again to outshine them and we look weak."
Biden has given Ukraine and Zelenskyy few options, including offering the Ukrainian president a way out of the country as Russia was invading, and now, spending billions of U.S. dollars on a war without a peace plan, said Grenell.
Grenell also responded to a report that Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has told Congress the Pentagon will need more money for the Ukraine war effort by June.
The Pentagon, Grenell said, plans for war and peace through strength, and "as a 12-year diplomat, let me just tell you that nothing is better to solve problems peacefully than to have a credible threat of military action behind you."
But without a peace plan, the problems of war will not be solved, he added.
"So now what we're seeing is Zelenskyy going for the one thing that he's getting from the United States, which is money and hardware," said Grenell. "Jake Sullivan, who is the national security advisor for the president and the president of the United States should be able to say, 'Okay, Milley wants money. Where's my peace plan? How do I somehow balance these two?'"
But the State Department has been "shoved aside" and now, the decisions on Ukraine are "all about money, your money, U.S. taxpayer money," Grenell said.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.