Gov. DeSantis says conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not vital U.S. interest

TAMPA, Fla. - Governor DeSantis hasn't declared a run for Presidency yet but Monday night he took a bold foreign policy stance aimed at the War in Ukraine.  

As a part of a Ukraine-related questionnaire that Fox Host Tucker Carlson sent to the major presidential candidates, DeSantis said that the dispute between Russia and Ukraine is not a vital US Interest. That's a stark contrast from many other republicans who've supported Ukraine both verbally and financially.  The Governor saying:

"While the U.S. has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party – becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them."

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It's a pivot for DeSantis, who as a congressman supported sending weapons to Ukraine, even pushing then President Obama.

" I was disappointed because I do think that Ukraine is. I do think that the conflict there has much broader ramifications," said Golfo Alexopoulos, a professor and Director of the US Institute for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies at USF.  She says if the US does ultimately pull aid from Ukraine, as DeSantis wants, it could have an escalating impact.

"The argument in favor of helping Ukraine is really about the fact that it'll cost more later. You know, Russia is not likely to stop at Ukraine. And I think the big worry about a negotiated settlement is that it won't hold, she said.

READ: Pinellas Community Foundation launches Ukraine Relief Fund

Governor DeSantis’ latest comments put him in line with Former President Donald Trump, who told Tucker that Putin never would’ve invaded if he were President.