Ukraine to NATO is a no-go for Florida's Governor.
In Ron DeSantis' latest show of neutrality amidst Russia's invasion of its neighbor, he said that adding Ukraine to the security alliance would be a "non-starter" for him.
"To say that we should be adding countries like Ukraine into NATO, that's a non-starter for me because all you're doing is you're putting more obligations on us to be able to defend. Why would we want to do things that are going to make it more likely that we're going to get dragged into a war?"
DeSantis made the comments to interviewer Steve Deace, as his opposition to U.S. support in the ongoing conflict continues to preoccupy even friendly talk show hosts.
Earlier this week, he came out against the Joe Biden administration supplying cluster bombs to the country, a move he says could "escalate the conflict."
"I think it probably runs a risk of escalation," DeSantis said Wednesday on the Howie Carr Show.
"Basically what I said from the beginning is no weapons that could lead to attacks inside Russia or escalating the conflict. We cannot become involved in this directly," DeSantis said, warning that could further "diminish our own stockpiles and prevent us from being able to respond to exigencies around the world."
On Tuesday, the presidential candidate told the Wisconsin Right Now website it was time to use American "leverage" to end the country's continued attempts to defend territorial integrity as Russia's invasion continues well into its second year.
"I think what we need to do is use our leverage to bring this to a sustainable peace. Because what we're doing now is, we're depleting our reserves of weapons that's going to make it more difficult for us to respond to events in Asia," DeSantis said.
The Governor has received scrutiny for his positions on Ukraine, going back to when he called the war a "territorial dispute" outside of America's "vital national interests" in comments to Tucker Carlson's former Fox News program. Carlson will be interviewing DeSantis at a conservative summit Friday in Iowa, and it's possible the Governor will have more to say then.
