Susan Rice slammed President Trump for his recent remarks on Russia.
Susan Rice, former President Obama's national security adviser, called President Trump's recent suggestion that Obama "allowed Russia to take Crimea" a "disgraceful statement."
"The fact of the matter is Russia - had invaded Georgia. It then invaded Ukraine. We rallied the entire - European Union and many other partners to impose tough sanctions on Russia for its annexation," Rice said on CBS News' 'Face the Nation' Sunday when asked about her response to Trump's assertion. "We supported the Ukrainian government to build up its defensive military capacity, and along with our G7 partners we agreed that Russia should no longer be part of this community--of the G8"
Trump made that claim at a press conference on Saturday.
"[Obama] was the one that let Crimea get away, that was during his administration and he was the one that let Russia go and spend a lot of money on Crimea because they've spent a lot of money on rebuilding it," Trump told reporters at the G-7 summit Saturday morning.
"Crimea was let go during the Obama administration and Obama can say all he wants, but he allowed Russia to take Crimea," Trump added.
His comments were made a day after he advocated that Russia be allowed to rejoin the group of the world's leading nations, saying, "They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table."
Russia was kicked out of the G-8, or Group of 8, in 2014, after it seized Crimea and militarily intervened in the Ukraine.
While Trump's suggestion was reportedly dismissed by other members of the G-7 and lawmakers in D.C., he isn't the only one who has criticized Obama's punishment of Russia which included economic sanctions but no armed response.
"The United States and NATO do not seek any conflict with Russia. Now is not the time for bluster…There are no easy answers, no military solution," Obama said at the time.
His response has been a frequent target for Trump who tweeted in March 2017, citing Fox News, "For eight years Russia 'ran over' President Obama, got stronger and stronger, picked-off Crimea and added missiles. Weak!"
