Former U.N. ambassador John Bolton issued a stern warning to the president Monday about negotiating with Russian president Vladimir Putin, after Putin and Trump held their first official in-person meeting Friday. Bolton, who was under consideration to be Trump’s secretary of state, also criticized the administration’s handling of sensitive policy matters.
Trump repeatedly asked Putin about election interference during the roughly two-hour meeting, a charge the Russian president “vehemently denied.” Bolton said the exchange should serve as a warning.
“For Trump, it should be a highly salutary lesson about the character of Russia’s leadership to watch Putin lie to him,” Bolton wrote in the Telegraph. “And it should be a fire-bell-in-the-night warning about the value Moscow places on honesty, whether regarding election interference, nuclear proliferation, arms control or the Middle East: negotiate with today’s Russia at your peril.”
The former U.N. ambassador also took issue with a ceasefire deal brokered by the U.S. and Russia and announced after the meeting. The agreement in southern Syria is intended to hinder advances in the area by Iran-backed forces that have caused concern in Jordan and Israel.
Bolton described the deal as a “clear victory” for Russia, the Bashar al-Assad regime, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Hezbollah.
“Although humanitarian in intention, this deal substantially legitimises Russia’s participation in the Syrian struggle, thereby keeping Assad’s dictatorship alive,” he wrote. “Any ceasefire necessarily relieves pressure on Assad on one front, which he can exploit on another.”
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said after the meeting that the Kremlin and White House “by and large” share “exactly the same” objectives on Syria, though the means to achieve those objectives differ. The Kremlin supports Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad while the U.S. has rejected a role for the Assad regime.
“Our position continues to be that we see no long-term role for the Assad family or the Assad regime,” Tillerson said. “We have made this clear to everyone—we’ve certainly made it clear in our discussions with Russia—that we do not think Syria can achieve international recognition in the future.”
Bolton also warned against direct nuclear negotiations with North Korea, which Tillerson discussed with reporters after the meeting. The former U.N. ambassador said such talks would be a “continuation of Obama policies.”
