The former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has criticised the US President Donald Trump, saying he has misjudged Vladimir Putin and has made a “completely wrong judgement.”
Duncan Smith said that Putin is an ex-KGB man, “once KGB, always KGB” and he is not interested in “territory, he’s interested in sovereignty.”
He said that the Russian despot want to “recreate the full borders” of the “old Soviet Union” into a far greater Russia.
Duncan Smith told MPs in the House of Commons, “The idea that just meeting Putin’s demand for territory – that he may have got or not – at the moment somehow will appease him and will satisfy his requirements is, I think, a completely wrong judgement.
“I noticed in a telephone call between President Trump and Putin this is what President Trump said was important.
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“The truth is Putin is an ex-KGB man. Once KGB, always KGB.
Duncan Smith added, “He’s not interested in territory, he’s interested in sovereignty.
“What we have to get lined up in here is the real nature of what Putin wants, and it’s not territory, it’s sovereignty.”
He warned, “He [Putin] wants to recreate and has always wanted to recreate the full borders of the old Soviet Union in a greater Russia, we know that. And Ukraine isn’t about 20% of their territory, for him it’s all of Ukraine.
“So you have a peace deal which isn’t stable, he will be back.
“He’ll build up his armed forces, which he can do quite quickly now with the support of people like North Korea, and he will be back in double quick time.”
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Lib Dems, is strongly urging Sir Keir Starmer to stand up to President Trump whilst he is in Washington DC.
He wrote on X, “With Donald Trump parroting Putin’s propaganda and prioritising America’s enemies over its friends, Keir Starmer must make it clear today: if Trump continues like this, the UK will not stay silent.”
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