If Donald Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he should hold off negotiating a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, the UK’s former top spy has told our partner network NBC News.
According to former aides, the president still covets the landmark award won by four of his predecessors – and which Trump himself has been nominated at least twice before.
Richard Dearlove, the ex-head of British intelligence agency MI6, said that rushing a truce – and giving too many concessions to the Kremlin – could encourage President Vladimir Putin to launch other hostile forays into Europe.
The Russians badly need a ceasefire, said Dearlove, citing waning Kremlin cash reserves and the falling price of crude oil, which Moscow exports to fund its war machine.
“Ukraine is pretty close to a tipping point,” he said.
“But the worry at the moment is that Trump will do a premature deal with the Russians” and make too many concessions.
The “highly undesirable” consequences would be to “embolden the Russians, over time, to be more aggressive and assertive in Europe”, said Dearlove.
While often less critical of Trump’s unorthodox approach than many other foreign policy experts, Dearlove said he finds Trump’s general “lack of grace… [and] decent behaviour” to be “very disconcerting” – specifically his Oval Office bust-up with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.
“If you want to get the Nobel Peace Prize, don’t do a premature deal with Ukraine – wait,” Dearlove said.