John Bolton, a former national security aide to US President Donald Trump, believes that the Trump administration is pursuing a tough policy towards Russia, but at the same time believes that it should be tightened even more. He expressed this opinion at the annual security forum organized by the Aspen Institute in Colorado.
“Trump has taken several tough measures against Russia, for example, withdrew from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty). It was one of a number of treaties that, in my opinion, unreasonably limited our security capabilities. The Trump administration announced its withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty and I worked on this issue as well. A number of tough sanctions were imposed on Russia, I support them and would even have imposed even tougher sanctions, ” Bolton said.
Asked whether he had discussed with Russian officials that Russia had allegedly offered awards to the Taliban in Afghanistan for the murder of American servicemen, Bolton said he “did not remember such discussions.”
“Afghanistan alone has not been the subject of discussion. Other problems were discussed – the situation in Syria, Venezuela, ” he said.