Outgoing US national security adviser H.R. McMaster has criticized President Donald Trump’s policy on Russia, saying Washington has “failed to impose sufficient costs,” on Moscow.
“For too long, some nations have looked the other way in the face of these threats. Russia brazenly, and implausibly denies its actions, and we have failed to impose sufficient costs,” McMaster said Tuesday during a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
“The Kremlin’s confidence is growing,” he continued. “Russia has used old and new forms of aggression to undermine our open societies.”
The comments came hours after Trump, in a White House news conference with Baltic state leaders, stated, “Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have.”
“Ideally we want to get along with Russia. Getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Maybe we will, maybe we won’t,” Trump said. “Probably no one has been tougher to Russia than I…