Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been invited to visit Ukraine after he dismissed the Russian invasion as a “territorial dispute.”
DeSantis, who is expected to run for president next year, made his remarks in response to questions sent to possible Republican contenders.
According to The BBC:
The former congressman said continued US support of Ukraine was not among the country’s “vital national interests”.
The comment signalled he would probably scale back aid if he became president.
It also aligned Mr DeSantis with former President Donald Trump, the leading contender for the Republican nomination, who has opposed US support for Kyiv and criticised the Biden administration’s handling of the war.
Their comments show the divide in the Republican Party between isolationists who are sceptical of providing military aid and the establishment party policy of supporting Kyiv.
In his response to a questionnaire by Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Mr DeSantis said: “While the US has many vital national interests… becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them.”
The 44-year-old has not officially announced his intention to challenge Mr Trump for the Republican nomination, but has been taking all the necessary steps suggesting he will do so.
When asked the same question on whether US backing for Kyiv was vital for Washington, Mr Trump said: “No, it is for Europe. But not for the United States.”
Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko criticised Mr DeSantis’s comments and tweeted his invitation to the Republican governor on Tuesday.
“We are sure that as a former military officer deployed to a combat zone, Governor Ron DeSantis knows the difference between a ‘dispute’ and war,” Mr Nikolenko said.
“We invite him to visit Ukraine to get a deeper understanding of Russia’s full-scale invasion and the threats it poses to US interests.”
