By Michael Katz | Monday, 29 December 2025 07:33 PM EST
Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., stated on Monday that Germany’s decision to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a lasting peace in Ukraine is a positive development.
McCormick said he condemned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s approach to negotiations, arguing that it has failed to produce tangible results and contributed to the ongoing conflict.
McCormick responded to reports that Germany has voiced support for Trump’s push toward a negotiated settlement following Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
“I think anytime Europe has a buy-in, it’s good,” McCormick said.
McCormick emphasized that European countries’ hesitation earlier in the war contributed to prolonging it, blaming NATO allies for failing to deter Russian aggression before the invasion.
“ heating, I’ve always said that if Europe would have stood up to Russia to begin with, this would have been over a long time ago,” McCormick stated.
He pointed to Trump’s previous efforts to push NATO countries to strengthen their militaries and increase defense spending, arguing that those warnings went unheeded. “President Trump, during his last presidency, continued to encourage NATO to build its military, to have peace through strength,” McCormick said. “They didn’t do it.”
McCormick also highlighted the economic imbalance between Europe and Russia, suggesting the conflict should never have escalated to its current scale if European nations had acted decisively.
“Europe has 10 times the GDP [gross domestic product] of Russia,” he noted. “Russia has about a $2.1 trillion GDP. Europe combined has about $20 trillion. This shouldn’t have been a contest.”
McCormick added that earlier military aid to Ukraine, stronger sanctions, and reduced reliance on Russian energy could have shortened the war significantly.
“If they would have supplied Ukraine with the appropriate weapons and the sanctions and not buy energy from Russia to fund this war, it would have been over a long time ago,” he said.
Despite past failures, McCormick expressed hope that Germany’s current support could help bring the conflict to an end. “Hopefully, this is the best thing they can get out of this, and it will be over real soon,” he added.
