US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) welcomed the upcoming Alaska talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin but warned that security guarantees for Kyiv are essential before any land concessions.
Graham’s comments came after Trump hinted that a potential resolution on Ukraine would involve “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” ahead of his Friday, Aug.15 talks with Putin.
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Graham, speaking to NBC News on Sunday, Aug. 10, agreed with Trump’s stance, arguing that compromises are needed from both sides.
“I want to be honest with you, Ukraine is not going to evict every Russian, and Russia is not going to Kyiv, so there will be some land swaps at the end,” Graham said.
Despite the land “swap” proposal, all territories rumored for discussion lie within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. Thus, territory swapping would actually have Kyiv cede land to Moscow in exchange for Moscow dropping claims to areas it does not fully control – something firmly rejected by Kyiv.
Graham then called for security guarantees for Kyiv before inking any deals on the so-called territorial swaps, arguing that land exchanges should only take place “after you have security guarantees to Ukraine to prevent Russia from doing this again.”
“You need to tell Putin what happens if he does it a third time,” Graham added, referencing Moscow’s 2014 and 2022 invasions.
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Graham also said he wishes for the participation of President Volodymyr Zelensky – who has been omitted from the talks – but added that he would “leave that up to the White House.”
As pointed out by NBC News, Graham’s latest remarks mark a departure from his earlier, more hawkish position on Moscow, in which he argued in 2023 that ceding territories would only embolden Putin for more invasions.
“The Ukrainians understand you don’t end wars by giving territory to the aggressor. If Putin is not stopped here, he will keep going. He has repeatedly made that clear,” Graham stated in 2023. “And if Putin wins he will keep taking territory and that increases the chances that there will be a war between Russia and NATO, which would directly involve Americans in war.”
Graham’s latest optimistic remarks contrasted sharply with those of Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on foreign policy, who criticized Trump for allowing Putin to “walk across one of his red lines with zero consequences” after Putin passed Trump’s Friday, Aug. 8 ceasefire deadline, and the US president declined to deliver on his threats to harshly sanction Russia.
Regarding Trump’s decision not to impose fresh sanctions on Moscow, Graham expressed support for Trump, citing planned tariffs on India.
He argued that Trump is already “doing everything the bill does” through executive actions and said the tariffs provide a “stronger hand legally” for the president’s tariff policy.
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