Retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax that Russia is closer now to commencing peace talks with Ukraine than any time since the war began.
Holt made his comments Tuesday during an interview on Newsmax's "Wake Up America."
President Vladimir Putin had said Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the nearly year-old war. However, he claimed Ukraine and its Western backers have refused to engage in talks, Reuters reported.
Holt, in his Newsmax interview, said it does appear Russia is ready.
"There are many reasons to believe that this is a very legitimate plea from the Russians to get off the stage or to get this thing working towards a conclusion," he said.
"When [Ukraine's] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy was addressing the United States Congress, former [Russian] President [Dmitry] Medvedev was in Beijing with Xi Jinping – and that meeting apparently did not go well. He was sent home to Moscow with a diplomatic note imploring Putin to get off the stage and get this war wrapped up. That's a lot of external pressure for Putin right there because he needs Beijing.
"The other thing is internally, he's got a lot of pressure on his inner circle, as we see more and more asymmetric attacks in and around Russia.''
Holt added: "Militarily, the Ukrainians will want to lock in as many gains as they possibly can get between now and February. That means this fighting is going to get way more intense than it is right now, I believe."
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