Pompeo spoke about US actions to end Russia's war against Ukraine

He stated this during the second international security forum Black Sea Security Forum in Odessa.

According to him, despite all efforts, US representatives have failed to thwart the plans of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and prevent a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.

I regret that more was not done in 2014, that more was not done in 2022, that we lost deterrence. And now our task is to return everything to stability. I was involved in the Minsk negotiations (...) we have already sat at that table (negotiations — ed.), and there was no "hammer", there were no levers of influence.

Mike Pompeo

American politician

Pompeo admitted that it was a "different time" then and Russia's aggression was "not as massive," but he noted: "if you look at the documents that were discussed during the Minsk talks, I'm sure they are almost identical to what is being talked about now."

And this should remind us all: when Putin puts down his weapons for a moment, we cannot return to Russian gas. When he puts down his weapons, we cannot live as before.

He also assured that the United States will not be able to afford to abandon Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression.

As for the deeper question of whether Ukraine is considered a "pawn" — I don't think so. I don't think anyone thinks like this: "We'll sacrifice it and get peace."

He pointed out that many members of the Republican Party "have expressed views that are contrary to America's deep national interests on this issue."

But I think they all also understand that ultimately the United States can't just walk away from this. This is not a case of saying, "Good luck, you're on your own." This is going to haunt all of us — those of us who believe in basic human dignity, property rights, all the trappings of the sovereignty of nations. And I think ultimately those values will prevail.

Recall that while Pompeo was serving as US Secretary of State, the "Crimean Declaration" was adopted and made public on July 25, 2018, 10 days after the official meeting between Trump (during his first presidential term) and Putin in Helsinki.

That document stated that "Russia, through its invasion of Ukraine and attempted annexation of Crimea in 2014, attempted to undermine a fundamental international principle held by democratic states: no country may forcibly change the borders of another."