Former US President Joe Biden has accused Donald of ‘modern-day appeasement’ in his dealings with the Kremlin, as he brands it ‘foolish’ to think Putin would concede if parts of Ukraine were given in a peace deal.
Biden voiced his worries about relations between US-Europe declining under the Trump administration, as Allied nations marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day this week.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, he described the possibility of post World War II ally-ship breaking down as a ‘grave concern,’ adding that it ‘would change the modern history of the world.’
The 82-year-old has since taken a swipe at the Trump branding his dealings with the Kremlin as ‘modern day appeasement’, adding that Putin ‘can’t stand the fact’ that the Soviet Union has ‘collapsed’.
He later quipped: ‘That anyone who thinks he is going to stop is just foolish.’
It comes as the US inferred Ukraine should concede parts of the country in order to secure a peace deal with Russia, such as accepting Russian control of Crimea – a peninsula annexed by the Kremlin in 2014.
Trump was quoted as saying in a TIME magazine interview published in April stating: ‘Crimea will stay with Russia.’
‘Zelensky understands that,’ he continued, referring to the Ukrainian president. ‘And everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time.’
Former US President Joe Biden has accused Donald of ‘modern-day appeasement’ in his dealings with the Kremlin,
In an interview with BBC Radio 4 Today, he branded it foolish to think Putin would stop if parts of Ukraine were conceded in a peace deal
Shortly after, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doubled down on Crimea, rejecting any suggestion Ukraine will hand over the region to the Kremlin
Biden has since said that he couldn’t understand why people believed the ‘dictator’ would be satisfied if he is allowed to ‘take significant portions of land that aren’t his.’
And not only did he express concerns that Europe’s confidence in the US and its leadership would decline, he also feared NATO countries bordering Russia would also follow suit in making ‘accommodation[s].’
He added: ‘We [the US] are the only nation in a position to lead the world, otherwise you are going to have China or the Russian Soviet Union stepping up.
‘Imagine if there was no NATO, do you think Putin would have stopped at Ukraine? I don’t understand how they fail to understand there is strength in alliances.’
It comes as an explosive row erupted between Trump and Zelensky in a televised meeting in the Oval Office, an incident Biden said was ‘beneath America in the way that [it] took place.’
