Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy plans to visit Moscow in his first year as president if he wins in 2024, saying he will deliver "peace in Ukraine" by ceding territory to Russia.
"I will lead America from moralism to realism by executing the inverse of what Nixon did in 1972: I will go to Moscow in 2025. I will deliver peace in Ukraine under the only terms that should matter to us — terms that put American interests first," Ramaswamy wrote in an op-ed to the American Conservative.
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Ramaswamy added that a good deal requires "all parties to get something out of it," with the goal to elevate Russia as a "strategic check" on China.
"The longer the war in Ukraine goes on, it becomes ever clearer that there is only one winner: China," Ramaswamy wrote.
"To that end, I will accept Russian control of the occupied territories and pledge to block Ukraine's candidacy for NATO in exchange for Russia exiting its military alliance with China. I will end sanctions and bring Russia back into the world market," the conservative candidate continued.
Republicans are split over whether to continue supporting the war in Ukraine or focus on domestic matters. Ramaswamy took heavy blows from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley during the first Republican presidential debate last week regarding his approach to the war in Ukraine.
Haley said that to stop helping Ukraine was choosing a "murderer" in Russian President Vladimir Putin over allies.
"He wants to hand Ukraine to Russia. He wants to let China eat Taiwan. He wants to go and stop funding Israel," Haley said of Ramaswamy. "You don't do that to friends. What you do instead is you have the backs of your friends."
"Under your leadership, you will make America less safe. You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows," Haley continued, receiving applause from the audience.
Ramaswamy blasted the Biden administration for its approach to Chinese relations in his op-ed on Monday, saying President Joe Biden has "foolishly tried" to get "Xi [Jinping] to dump Putin."
"In reality, we should get Putin to dump Xi," Ramaswamy wrote.
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He added that the United States has operated in "strategic ambiguity" regarding Taiwan for "far too long." Ramaswamy said that, as president, he would make it clear to China that the U.S. will defend American interests in Taiwan.
Republicans have accused Biden and his administration of appeasing China, particularly after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a trip to Beijing that the U.S. "does not support Taiwan independence."