EUROPE must become “uncomfortably aggressive” against Russia for the “bar fight” of peace talk with Putin, a leading ally of Donald Trump demands.
Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw says it’s time to “out crazy” the Kremlin with a dramatic hike in European aggression and boots on the ground in Ukraine.
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He warned France and Germany’s dithering will leave Russia with the upper hand in talks and the continent must immediately “be more threatening”.
The Texas congressman and decorated veteran told Never Mind the Ballots: “Whether you’re in a bar fight or whether you’re in an international conflict, the framework is the same.
“You have to out crazy the other which means you have to win in the escalation dominance ladder.”
He added: “Europeans need to help by being in the background of those negotiations, saying, If this doesn’t work, we’re going to take further action that you’re not going to like. Now, that’s a very uncomfortable thing for Europeans to do, but it’s very necessary.”
As Donald Trump faces a major backlash over claims Ukraine should never have picked up arms in the face of the brutal Russian aggression, the Congressman defended his ally.
He insisted: “He takes pretty hard actions against Russia. So this is a strategy we should be more optimistic about than pessimistic about, that’s what I would tell Europeans right now.
“And the other thing I’d tell Europeans is be uncomfortably aggressive, please. It will make the outcome of this better for Ukraine.”
And he hit out at “handwringing” form the continent about being asked to step up on defence and security funding and the US talking to Putin.
“My point to Europe is, look, if you’re going to, if you’re going to lambast the Trump administration for giving up too much, well, then put them in a situation where they have so much more leverage that they don’t have to give up much.”
He warned: “Russia will keep spending human capital like there’s no tomorrow, because they can, because they have just, they simply have more people that they can force into the fight.
“They have an industrial complex where they can build more artillery rounds than everyone, and they don’t care about human life, and they don’t care about re-election prospects.
“So given those advantages, you have to, you have to present different leverage against them, harsher leverage than we have thus far.”
Mr Crenshaw also insisted that the Ukrainians DO have a place at the talks, insisting the White House has been “very clear that Ukrainians have a place at the table.”
He added: “This is how this is going to go and I think there’s a lot of hand wringing that neither, no one from Ukraine or the EU was in Riyadh.
“But how? I’m not sure how else you would do it. This is the strategy. You talk to one side, you get what they want to say, Okay, now you talk the other side.
“How do you feel about this? And this is going to be an ongoing conversation where it ends up no one is sure. The Russians are, of course, starting out with pretty outlandish demands.”
And he said Trump is playing a tactical game, saying: “you have to understand how he thinks and how he negotiates.”
“He will use kind words in order to get somebody to the table. And what hasn’t worked is not talking to Putin for the last two years, which Biden has not done and then slow rolling this aid to Ukraine.”
He added: “We’re in a very unique situation right now, which I think President Trump is taking advantage of, which is you finally, finally got an escalation from Biden at the very end of his administration, allowing weapons to be used inside Russia.
“Ukrainians have taken Russian territory they now hold that induces additional leverage, and that leadership has also increased slightly.”
And he warned it is now time to double down, adding: “You add additional sanctions on top of that, which President Trump is always ready to use a lot more than his predecessor, and you’ve got a better place for negotiation.
“How that negotiation plays out. That’s what everybody’s question is. And I have no idea.”
