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MUNICH — United States Sen. Lindsey Graham on Saturday proposed a conditional path for Ukraine’s NATO membership, suggesting automatic entry if Russia invades again.
“If you can’t get them into NATO right now, my idea with [former U.K. Prime Minister] Boris Johnson is to be really clear: Tell Putin if you ever do this again, if there’s another incursion by Russia into Ukraine, that leads to automatic admission into NATO by Ukraine as a tripwire,” Graham said.
He also said the U.S. should continue to send weapons to Ukraine. “We need to continue to build up the capability of the Ukrainian military. Arm them to the teeth, give them a bunch of F-16s.”
Graham (R-S.C.) made the comments during an interview with POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin at the Munich Security Conference.
Graham, a top ally of President Donald Trump, was also asked to address concerns about mixed messages coming from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance this week on whether Ukraine should join NATO.
“It doesn’t matter what Pete says, it doesn’t matter how many phone calls are made,” Graham said. “What matters is how it ends, if it ends in a way to deter future aggression and if they’ve stabilized the continent of Europe, [Trump will] get his fair share of the credit.”
Graham also expressed confidence in Trump’s ability to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, describing Putin as a “thug and a bully” who will “get away with as much as he can until somebody stops him.”
He warned that if Trump offers what he thinks is a reasonable deal and Putin rejects it, “he will be making a serious mistake.”
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