"If he ends this terrible war without Ukraine having to cede land, and is truly tough on President Vladimir Putin, which we haven't seen, then President Donald Trump will receive my nomination for the Nobel peace prize," former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented on the Raging Moderates podcast on 15/8.
The interview was released ahead of the meeting between President Trump and President Putin in Alaska, the first time the two leaders have met face-to-face since 2021 and the first time Putin has set foot on US territory since his 2015 visit to New York.
Clinton, who lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential election, noted that the summit's location, an air force base, "regularly scrambles fighter jets to intercept Russian bombers" approaching Alaska.
She hoped President Trump would negotiate with President Putin with the understanding that he is "not meeting a friend, but facing an adversary always looking to exploit weaknesses."
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US President Donald Trump at the White House on 11/8. Photo: AP |
US President Donald Trump at the White House on 11/8. Photo: AP
The former secretary of state emphasized that the US cannot force Ukraine to surrender, warning that such a scenario would set a "terrible precedent" for European security.
"The best outcome of this meeting is probably that President Trump will understand more clearly that Putin doesn't want to sign an agreement that has any chance of lasting," Clinton said.
En route to Alaska for the summit with President Putin, Fox News asked Trump to comment on Clinton's statement. After a pause, he replied, "That's good. Maybe I have to start liking her again."
The US president believes President Putin genuinely desires a compromise to end the war. After the three-hour meeting in Alaska concluded, Trump declared in a press conference that the negotiations were extremely productive, but the parties "need to do more" to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
Trump said Russia and the US "have made some progress and there has been great progress," while acknowledging that no concrete agreement has been reached. The US president confirmed he would soon meet with NATO for further discussions. He said he would also invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the meeting to brief him on the summit.
Before Clinton's statement, Trump had been nominated for the Nobel peace prize by several politicians and governments.
US Representative Buddy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated him for the prize for his key role in the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran. The governments of Pakistan and Cambodia also nominated Trump to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, highlighting his role in resolving the India-Pakistan conflict in May and the Thailand-Cambodia conflict in July.
The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia also supported Trump for the Nobel peace prize for his contributions to the framework for a peace agreement between the two countries. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is expected to announce the Nobel peace prize recipient on 10/10.
Thanh Danh (Fox, Hill, CBS)
