Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Richard Haass said on MS NOW that no good news will come from President Trump’s meetings with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

MSNBC HOST: I think the president also said that Putin wants what’s best for Ukraine, which is at best, at most charitable, is debatable. But Richard, what do you make of President Trump’s shuttled diplomacy here? This going back and forth between Zelensky and Russian President Putin, is it effective at all? RICHARD HAASS, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS PRESIDENT EMERITUS: So far, no. What’s missing from this is clear pressure on Vladimir Putin. There’s been a lot of happy talk. We’re always giving Putin the benefit of the doubt for what reason. I know not. I don’t see new sanctions introduced. I don’t see the United States making a clear commitment to provide Ukraine with the wherewithal that we need to provide for its own defense out into the future. So I don’t see how after all these talks, Vladimir Putin’s calculus has changed as to why he should accept what he doesn’t want to accept. It’s not simply about territory. He does not want a Ukraine that’s anchored to the West on his border. It represents a whole different path for countries in this part of the world, including his own. And what Vladimir Putin cares most about is maintaining power. So I’m sorry. Here we are at the end of the year, just past the holidays. Like to be here with lots of good news, either about the Middle East or about what’s going on with Ukraine or Russia. But I don’t really see where we’re coming out of these pair of Mar-a-Lago meetings with a lot of momentum. .

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