A clash broke out on CNN over the possibility of peace talks involving the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and the United States.
President Donald Trump says arrangements are underway face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after the U.S. president met separately with each of them, but former State Department official Joel Rubin told "CNN This Morning" that he was doubtful the war would end.
"Clearly, the boss Putin wants a little more out of Donald Trump than he's gotten, and, quite frankly, I don't think this should be a surprise to anybody," said Rubin, who served during the Obama administration. "Look, Donald Trump, by meeting with Vladimir Putin last week, gave away the store. He gave away the political isolation that had been built for the last several years to keep Putin at bay until there was a meeting that was meaningful, but by meeting with Trump on American soil, Putin got what he needed."
"He got his photo op, he doesn't need any more," Rubin added. "Now he needs to continue this war, keep the pressure on Ukraine militarily, and hope to continue to try to crack the American-European alliance, and so he's in no rush."
Republican strategist Matt Gorman said he's not particularly optimistic about the talks, either.
"I'm bearish on the possibility of a one-on-one meeting," Gorman said. "I think anything that was going to happen meaningful is going to have some U.S. in the middle of it, U.S., Europe in the middle of it. I'm bearish that it will happen. I think if we're going to see meaning at all, it's going to be some sort of trilateral [talks]. I don't see Putin and Zelenskyy coming together one-on-one without some sort of third party there, and look, let's be honest here. Like, what was what was the previous several years getting us? Nothing, so coming to the table –"
Rubin interrupted, saying "that's not true at all," and Gorman pushed back.
"Yes, it is," he began, but Rubin cut in again.
"It's called protecting Ukraine from getting taken over by Russia's invasion," Rubin said, as Gorman protested. "The last I checked, this was going to be resolved with a phone call."
Gorman cut him off and reclaimed his time.
"Excuse me, okay, you've had your time," Gorman said. "Look, there's nothing wrong with sitting down with Putin. We talk about legitimizing Putin – the guy invading another nation. Do we want peace or not? Whether we like it or not, we have to deal with him in order to get what we need to get done."
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