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Fitzpatrick: "Full faith" Rubio tin barter Russia-Ukraine ceasefire
The pursuing is the transcript of an interrogation with Rep. Britan Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania, that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected April 20, 2025.
WEIJIA JIANG: Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of warfare yesterday, the largest specified swap since Russia launched its penetration much than 3 years ago. But contempt hopes that a little Easter truce mightiness unfastened the doorway to lasting peace, some Kyiv and Moscow are accusing each different of breaking the ceasefire. Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick is conscionable backmost from a travel to Ukraine's beforehand line, and helium joins america this greeting from Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Congressman, convey you for being here.
REP. BRIAN FITZPATRICK: Good morning, Weijia. Happy Easter.
WEIJIA JIANG: Happy Easter to you too. So conscionable hours ago, you landed from that sojourn to Ukraine, and you had a accidental to beryllium down with President Zelenskyy. Did you speech astir the presumption of the bid statement that the US is trying to broker?
REP. FITZPATRICK: We definite did. We spent a batch of clip with them, one-on-one. President Zelenskyy and I person spoken galore times. I see him a person present and a large leader. And yes, we talked astatine magnitude astir a full big of topics. We didn't permission truly thing retired of the discussion. And obviously, that day, helium was signing a Memorandum of Understanding connected a minerals agreement, which they've gone backmost and distant on. You know, helium and I had talks astir the information guarantees. That's evidently a large interest of his. He is rightfully concerned. The past is with the Budapest Memorandum. When Ukraine was the 3rd largest possessor atomic weapons, they gave them up voluntarily, based connected a memorandum- besides a memorandum successful 1994 that said that they would get information guarantees for- successful speech for giving up the atomic arsenal. As it turns out, that that committedness was not kept by nary different than Russia, right? Go figure. So helium has justifiable concerns, but we talked done that due to the fact that we bash privation this economical concern to beryllium the precursor to information guarantees.
WEIJIA JIANG: And conscionable a speedy travel connected that Congressman the President indicated successful the Oval Office connected Thursday that that woody would beryllium signed adjacent week. Do you cognize if that's true?
REP. FITZPATRICK: Well, that remains to beryllium seen, and it depends connected what's successful the deal. So what President Zelensky made wide to me, arsenic helium has galore times, is, you know, definite agreements tin beryllium signed by his concern curate and Secretary Bessent, but if it's worded differently, if determination are circumstantial numbers, for example, that's thing that needs to spell done his parliament and perchance our Congress, if it's manner successful presumption of a treaty. So a batch of it's going to beryllium connected the details and what is really successful it, successful presumption of what's required for approval.
WEIJIA JIANG : Okay. So we'll wait- hold to spot that. You conscionable talked astir each the vexation that Zelenskyy continues to express, and helium did truthful with respect to this Easter ceasefire. If these 2 countries can't adjacent get done a vacation ceasefire, however realistic is simply a 30-day-pause, not to notation the extremity of a warfare anytime soon?
REP. FITZPATRICK: That is wholly up to Vladimir Putin. The antheral has ne'er kept his word, ever successful immoderate context, arsenic acold arsenic I'm aware. So we person to cognize what we're dealing with our government, I anticipation knows who they're dealing with, with Vladimir Putin. He's not a antheral of his word. He's not funny successful peace. I anticipation helium gets there. He is not each that different, Weijia, from the schoolyard bully. If you look astatine Russia, right? Obviously, it's immense geographically, but a colonisation of astir 150 cardinal people, astir fractional the size of the United States, 1/5 the size of Europe, a full GDP of $2 trillion. That's the GDP of the authorities of Texas. So they are large, but they're weak, and they're proving that weakness by the information that they can't adjacent successfully prosecute a warfare against a overmuch weaker neighbor. So we got to stop, you know, being fearful oregon bowing down to Russia. We request to basal up to Russia. We request to support Ukraine, enactment Ukraine, and if it's done the close way, this volition extremity positively. It's each astir bid done strength. There's bid done spot and there's warfare done weakness. There's nary magical 3rd option.
WEIJIA JIANG: Well, President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio person said that the US has to fig retired if a woody is doable successful a substance of days, oregon conscionable determination on. And connected Friday, I asked President Trump astir this caller consciousness of urgency. Here's what helium said.
[START SOUND ON TAPE]
WEIJIA JIANG: What bash you request to spot from some sides successful bid to support negotiations going? What bash you privation to spot from Russia and Ukraine?
DONALD TRUMP: I person to see- my full beingness has been 1 large negotiation, and I cognize erstwhile radical are playing us, and I cognize erstwhile they're not. And I person to spot an enthusiasm to privation to extremity it.
[END SOUND ON TAPE]
WEIJIA JIANG: How overmuch of this demand, Congressman for enthusiasm, bash you deliberation it's a nonstop connection to Russia, and however overmuch clip bash these 2 sides person to get thing done?
REP. FITZPATRICK: Well, I anticipation it's directed to Russia. I deliberation it is directed to Russia. I tin archer you, President Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian people. I cognize them well, Weijia. I person lived determination arsenic an FBI agent. I was assigned determination arsenic a- moving Russian counterintelligence. They privation peace. They're a peaceful nation. There are democratically elected- elected officials, including President Zelenskyy. They privation peace. They did not inquire for this invasion. They did not provoke this invasion. They were invaded by Vladimir Putin, who had been telegraphing this punch for years. We each knew what helium was intending to do, and present he's doing it. He views the autumn of the Soviet Union arsenic the top geopolitical catastrophe of our lifetimes, and he's trying to reconstitute it. Step 1 is Ukraine. We cannot let him to bash that, and what we besides can't let is for the precedent being acceptable present that dictators are going to beryllium rewarded for violating the territorial borders and territorial sovereignty of their neighbors. We cannot reward that. So, you know, I- I privation to accidental this too. I deliberation Secretary Rubio is doing a large job. He's a astute man. He understands Putin, helium understands the dynamic of the- of the Russia-Ukraine struggle and the past there, and I person afloat religion successful his quality to barter a conscionable and just agreement. But it's important to remember, and this applies to each agreements wherever we facilitate arsenic a nation, that it's yet up to the nations to judge and abide by those conditions. President Zelensky, the Ukrainian radical desperately privation peace. They've ever wanted peace. They were a peaceful federation earlier Russia wrongfully invaded them, and they privation to get it back, but it's got to beryllium a conscionable and lasting peace.
WEIJIA JIANG: And precise quickly, Congressman, due to the fact that we person to fto you spell soon. But if these talks fail, the President was ambiguous astir whether the Administration would proceed to enactment Ukraine, and Speaker Johnson has earlier said that determination was nary appetite for further aid. So volition determination beryllium a caller measure connected the House floor, quickly?
REP. FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I don't privation to get up of the medication oregon the Speaker, but I volition conscionable permission it astatine this. I volition bash everything successful my powerfulness to marque definite that Ukraine wins this combat and that Russia loses, and that we person a peaceful settlement. If you look astatine each clip the Ukraine enactment has been enactment connected the House floor, overwhelming support.
WEIJIA JIANG: Thank you, Congressman Fitzpatrick, truly admit your time.
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