Trump's pick for top security advisor Mike Waltz calls for 'responsible end' to Russia-Ukraine war

US President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security advisor on Sunday urged to stop the escalating war between Ukraine and Russia and said that the country "needs to restore deterrence and peace."
In an interview with Fox News, Mike Waltz said, “We need to bring this to a responsible end. We need to restore deterrence, restore peace, and get ahead of this escalation ladder, rather than responding to it."
The call for negotiations comes as tensions rise following Washington’s approval of Kyiv’s use of US-supplied missiles for strikes inside Russian territory and the provision of landmines to Ukraine, which led Moscow to deploy an experimental medium-range ballistic missile in response.
Waltz whilst critical of Russia, has aligned with Trump in opposing additional support for Ukraine.
"President Trump has been very clear about the need to end this conflict," he stated to Fox News.
"We need to be discussing is who's at that table, whether it's an agreement, an armistice, how to get both sides to the table and then what's the framework of a deal?"
Russia initiated its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, prompting the United States and allies to support Kyiv's defence of its eastern territories.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously rejected surrendering territory to Russia, and informed Fox News on Tuesday that Ukraine would face defeat if American funding ceased, according to AFP news agency.
President Joe Biden's administration has committed to ensuring a seamless transition to Trump, who intends to implement significant changes in both foreign and domestic policies.
On Sunday, Waltz revealed his meeting with Biden's NSA Jake Sullivan and cautioned international adversaries against attempting to exploit the transition period before Trump assumes office in January.
"For our adversaries out there that think this is a time of opportunity that they can play one administration off the other. They're wrong... we are hand in glove."