GOP Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri told “FOX News Sunday” that he supports President Trump’s latest proposal for peace in Ukraine. “I think President Trump approaches this as a realist, right? You take the world as it is, not how you want it to be, not how you wish it would be, but actually how it is,” Schmitt said. “The Washington Consensus has been so wrong about this, for so long, and they’ve been wrong about a lot of things over the last 30 years,” he said. “President Trump is coming in and saying, we want to actually end the killing, because the people that are critical of this right now, they don’t really have another plan. And they live in this fantasy world that another round of sanctions or another round of weapons or another round of cash is going to solve the problem, and it won’t.”

SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS: I want to start off where we started with Senator Warner, which is the idea of what’s going on in Ukraine. We’ve got brand new polling from the Reagan National Defense Forum. This is their survey asking the question, which approach to resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine do you think the U.S. should push for? At the top of the list, we’ve got support Ukraine’s full territorial sovereignty. Next down on the list, 20 points behind, Ukraine cedes territory in exchange for a ceasefire and security guarantees. What we know of this deal, it sounds like it’s going to ask a lot from the Ukrainians as far as giving up territory, including some that’s not even currently under Russian control. What’s your take? SEN. ERIC SCHMITT (R-MO): Well, I think this administration — by the way, President Trump ran on the idea of resolving this bloody war. I mean, this is a meat grinder at this point, and he wants to stop the killing. I think President Trump approaches this as a realist, right? You take the world as it is, not how you want it to be, not how you wish it would be, but actually how it is. And the truth of the matter is, and a lot of people won’t say it, is the Ukrainians have been losing for a long time. They’ve lost 20 percent of their territory. They have a manpower problem. They have a munitions problem. I think what President Trump is trying to accomplish is maintain Ukrainian sovereignty, make sure there’s a pathway to rebuild the country, and also lessen the likelihood that this will ever happen again. And so, they put forward a proposal, a framework. You know, Secretary of State Rubio, Secretary of the Army Driscoll, they’re all in Geneva right now, working with the Ukrainians, working with the Europeans, to try to get to some consensus here on the 28 points. I would say that most of those, at least half of those, have been talked about for a long time, and there’s a lot of agreement. So, you’ve got to narrow the gap now and try to get to a place where you recognize the realities on the ground. And — and I have to say that — that the Washington consensus has been so wrong about this, Shannon, for so long, and they’ve been wrong about a lot of things over the last 30 years. President Trump is coming in and saying, we want to actually end the killing, because the people that are critical of this right now, they don’t really have another plan. And they live in this fantasy world that another round of sanctions or another round of weapons or another round of cash is going to solve the problem, and it won’t. And so, I think you recognize the realities, and you try to bring the parties together to end the war and make sure this doesn’t happen again. BREAM: OK. Here’s one assessment of what we know so far about this plan. Again, it’s in flux. Negotiations are continuing today. Saying this, “it locks in Russia’s territorial gains, cedes additional unoccupied territory in the Donbas, prohibits NATO membership by legal statute, and strips Ukraine of the long-range strike capabilities it needs to blunt another offensive. Such a deal guarantees only one outcome: a future attack by Moscow, where it can truly finish the job.” So, what’s your message to Mr. Zelenskyy about why he should sign this deal as it now stands, after three-plus years of a lot of sacrifice by his country? SCHMITT: Well, let’s be clear. The Ukrainians have been valiant here and very courageous in defending their country. But I think, you know, the situation on the ground now is one that this is ripe, again, for striking a peace. I would say that the — the issues related to security guarantees and territorial disputes or issues or gains that Russia has made and what would be included, that’s still part of the ongoing, I think, negotiation that’s happening right now in Geneva. So, I don’t think those in particular are set in stone. But I do think there’s a willingness, hopefully, for all the parties to come together, because, like I said, there really isn’t an alternative here, Shannon. The people who want to thump their chest and say that this should go on forever are ignoring the realities on the ground. And I think President Trump is taking, again, a very realist approach here and saying that this thing has gone on long enough. The killing has to stop. This is — it is where it is, whether you like it or not. And I think, again, to maintain Ukrainian sovereignty, to give them a pathway to prosperity in the future through investment, and then also making sure this doesn’t happen again is all part of, I think, the upside here for Ukraine, as opposed to continuing a war and possibly losing even more territory.

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