The director of the National Intelligence of the United States, Tulsi Gabbard, has expressed a differing opinion on the values of freedom, peace and democracy, suggesting that Ukraine and its European supporters do not align with the values of US President Donald Trump.
In an interview with Fox News, Gabbard was asked about the heated exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, as well as Trump’s Vice President, J.D. Vance, at the White House last week. The tense meeting ended with Zelensky abruptly leaving the White House, after being accused by Trump of being ungrateful, risking a third world war and refusing to make peace with Russia.
The incident sparked a reaction from Trump’s critics, including several EU state and government leaders, who accused Trump of “bullying” Zelensky. Gabbard, however, believes that anyone criticizing Trump for his interaction with the Ukrainian head of state is showing that they do not support the cause of peace.
“Many of these European countries and even Zelensky himself, who claim to be fighting for the cause of freedom and democracy, are actually acting against these values” Gabbard stated.
“If we look at what is really happening in these countries and also with Zelensky’s government in Ukraine, it is the exact opposite” she added. Gabbard referred to the lack of elections in Ukraine, the criminalization of opposition parties by the government in Kiev, the closure of Orthodox churches and the complete control of the media by the government.
“This raises questions. It is clear that they are against Putin. But what are they really fighting for and are they aligned with the values that they claim to share with the US, namely the values of freedom, peace and real security?” Gabbard asked.
The DNI chief also criticized Washington’s EU partners, reminding of the speech by US Vice President Vance at the Munich Security Conference, in which he accused European countries of pursuing a policy that undermines democracy and what shows that they “do not really believe in the voices of the people.”
“We see this in the United Kingdom, we see this in Germany and we saw it in the annulment of elections in Romania” Gabbard said, adding that this shows a “great divergence” between the values of the US and those of the European countries that support Zelensky.
Russia also shares the view that the meeting between Zelensky and Trump last week once again proved that Kiev is not really interested in peace. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitri Peskov emphasized that the behavior of the Ukrainian head of state in the Oval Office showed “how difficult it will be to find a way to a settlement on the issue of Ukraine.