Reps. Smith, Wittman: Putin is tooling Trump around

If you think all Republicans in Congress are confident in President Trump's approach on the Russia-Ukraine talks and the outcome, think again.

Talking to an audience at the POLITICO Security Summit Thursday morning, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "not trustworthy, he is slow rolling this," referring to the talks. When asked if the Congress should pursue new sanctions against Russia if it does not move more concertedly to the table, Wittman said, "there has to be consequences I think for not working towards a negotiated peace, there has to be... it is clear to me that Putin is in no way, shape or form serious about this."

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, was more direct.

"That has been the problem ... Trump has put all the pressure on Zelensky and took the pressure of Putin. He gave Putin a massive green light to keep fighting in Ukraine...he's got to put the pressure on Putin and stop giving him all these opportunities," Smith said. "Yes, we need the peace talks in Turkey, but Putin is still playing with Ukraine, playing with Zelensky, and playing with Trump."

Their remarks came as the U.S., Russia and Ukraine began the first direct talks since the failed Istanbul talks of 2022. Putin rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's invitation to participate directly today, sending an envoy instead, leading critics to double down on the charge that he is not serious. Others said it was never likely for the two heads of state to meet directly without setting the diplomatic groundwork first.

On Iran, the congressmen were much more sanguine, if not supportive of the current talks between the U.S. and Iran to pursue a nuclear deal. Wittman said if there was a deal the terms for inspections must be tougher. But he did not criticize the attempt to get an agreement, despite Republicans being largely against the concept when President Obama forged the JCPOA in 2015.

"I think you have to put a lot of pressure on the Iranians to be able to do the right thing, to actually take away what is now continuing to be a building capability there. And by the way, I think it's a great time to do that, because I think internally in Iran, there's lots of pressures on Iran. They are at the weakest point right now historically," he noted.

"So I think now's the time to go in and say, these are things you need to do, and if not, there are consequences to not doing those things," Wittman added. When asked if Trump could get deals on Ukraine and Iran by Labor Day he said, "I do think that there's a better than 50/50 chance that we're able to get agreements there with both. Listen, I'm probably a little more skeptical on the Russia-Ukraine side, much more optimistic about Middle East."

Smith said he did not think Trump would ultimately get a deals in either arena by Labor Day, however, "I think you know, negotiating with Iran makes a ton of sense. They are at a weak point. We're in a position, potentially, to get a good agreement and avoid a conflict with Iran. I mean, look, we all know Israel is itching to attack Iran and just cut off their nuclear program, which could re-inflame the entire Middle East."