Rep. Mike Turner says "you can't be America first and pro-Russia"

Washington — GOP Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio expressed interest Sunday that the White House-backed proposed program to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine is excessively pro-Russia, portion urging that immoderate bid statement indispensable look astatine Russia arsenic a "skeptical adversary."

Turner said connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that the president's "goal of bid is incredibly important," portion acknowledging comments made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio's supporting a sovereign Ukraine arsenic negotiators gathered successful Miami connected Sunday morning. 

The squad of Ukrainian negotiators began gathering Sunday greeting with Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law. Witkoff is expected to question to Moscow aboriginal this week.

As the gathering kicked disconnected Sunday, Rubio outlined that "the extremity end is evidently not conscionable the extremity of the war," but besides "securing an extremity to the warfare that leaves Ukraine sovereign and autarkic and with an accidental astatine existent prosperity." 

Rubio's comments travel aft the White House floated a bid connection earlier this period that critics said favored Russia, initially including respective provisions that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had rejected successful the past. But the program has since been revised, Mr. Trump has outlined, citing advancement connected some sides. 

Asked by CBS' main White House analogous Nancy Cordes whether helium inactive has concerns astir the program being excessively pro-Russia, Turner, who sits connected the House Armed Services Committee and formerly chaired the House Intelligence Committee, said "I deliberation we each person those concerns." But helium added, "one happening that I deliberation everybody understands is that you can't have, you can't beryllium America archetypal and pro-Russia, due to the fact that Russia is simply a self-declared adversary of the United States."

"It's fielding new, precocious atomic weapons that are specifically targeting the United States, it's perpetually attacking the United States with violative cyber, it continuously identifies some NATO and the west, the United States, arsenic its adversary," Turner said. "You person to recognize that the equilibrium of this bid statement has to beryllium 1 wherever you person to look astatine Russia arsenic a skeptical adversary."

Asked astir a transcript of a telephone published by Bloomberg successful which Witkoff appeared to beryllium coaching a Kremlin adjutant connected however to negociate with President Trump, Turner said "the portion that acrophobic maine astir is that determination appeared to beryllium an orchestration of giving Putin an accidental to talk to Trump earlier President Zelenskyy was connected his mode to the White House."

Turner said "this is not a subject against subject action, they are bombing into Ukraine and murderously sidesplitting civilians successful Ukraine."

"The Ukrainian radical are being subjected to this, and President Trump needs to beryllium capable to perceive Zelenskyy's dependable clearly, and not conscionable the authoritarian, murderous Putin," Turner added. 

As for Witkoff, Turner said "I deliberation you can't instrumentality conscionable 1 portion of someone's speech during the long, stretched retired aspects of negotiations arsenic reflective. But I deliberation it's surely important that erstwhile we bash get that opportunity, that our voices are heard of caution and concern."

"The orchestration of inserting Putin's dependable earlier Zelenskyy's is precise concerning," Turner said. "Because Ukraine's sovereignty and information needs to beryllium preeminent. And we heard that this greeting from Rubio, and that needs to beryllium the focus."

On Sunday afternoon, Rubio called the day's gathering "another precise productive session," reiterating the volition to extremity the warfare portion besides moving to "help Ukraine beryllium harmless forever." He called it a "shared vision."

"But there's much enactment to beryllium done," Rubio said aft the meeting. "This is delicate, it's complicated, determination are a batch of moving parts, and evidently there's different enactment progressive present that volition person to beryllium a portion of the equation, and that volition proceed aboriginal this week erstwhile Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow."