The following is the transcript of an interview with Rep. Britan Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on April 20, 2025.
WEIJIA JIANG: Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war yesterday, the largest such swap since Russia launched its invasion more than three years ago. But despite hopes that a brief Easter truce might open the door to lasting peace, both Kyiv and Moscow are accusing each other of breaking the ceasefire. Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick is just back from a trip to Ukraine’s front line, and he joins us this morning from Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Congressman, thank you for being here.
REP. BRIAN FITZPATRICK: Good morning, Weijia. Happy Easter.
WEIJIA JIANG: Happy Easter to you too. So just hours ago, you landed from that visit to Ukraine, and you had a chance to sit down with President Zelenskyy. Did you talk about the status of the peace agreement that the US is trying to broker?
REP. FITZPATRICK: We sure did. We spent a lot of time with them, one-on-one. President Zelenskyy and I have spoken many times. I consider him a friend now and a great leader. And yes, we talked at length about a whole host of topics. We didn’t leave really anything out of the discussion. And obviously, that day, he was signing a Memorandum of Understanding on a minerals agreement, which they’ve gone back and forth on. You know, he and I had talks about the security guarantees. That’s obviously a big concern of his. He is rightfully concerned. The history is with the Budapest Memorandum. When Ukraine was the third largest possessor nuclear weapons, they gave them up voluntarily, based on a memorandum- also a memorandum in 1994 that said that they would get security guarantees for- in exchange for giving up the nuclear arsenal. As it turns out, that that promise was not kept by none other than Russia, right? Go figure. So he has justifiable concerns, but we talked through that because we do want this economic partnership to be the precursor to security guarantees.
WEIJIA JIANG: And just a quick follow on that Congressman the President indicated in the Oval Office on Thursday that that deal would be signed next week. Do you know if that’s true?
REP. FITZPATRICK: Well, that remains to be seen, and it depends on what’s in the deal. So what President Zelensky made clear to me, as he has many times, is, you know, certain agreements can be signed by his finance minister and Secretary Bessent, but if it’s worded differently, if there are specific numbers, for example, that’s something that needs to go through his parliament and potentially our Congress, if it’s fashion in terms of a treaty. So a lot of it’s going to depend on the details and what is actually in it, in terms of what’s required for approval.
WEIJIA JIANG : Okay. So we’ll wait- wait to see that. You just talked about all the frustration that Zelenskyy continues to express, and he did so with regard to this Easter ceasefire. If these two countries can’t even get through a holiday ceasefire, how realistic is a 30-day-pause, not to mention the end of a war anytime soon?
REP. FITZPATRICK: That is entirely up to Vladimir Putin. The man has never kept his word, ever in any context, as far as I’m aware. So we have to know what we’re dealing with our government, I hope knows who they’re dealing with, with Vladimir Putin. He’s not a man of his word. He’s not interested in peace. I hope he gets there. He is not all that different, Weijia, from the schoolyard bully. If you look at Russia, right? Obviously, it’s huge geographically, but a population of about 150 million people, about half the size of the United States, 1/5 the size of Europe, a total GDP of $2 trillion. That’s the GDP of the state of Texas. So they are large, but they’re weak, and they’re proving that weakness by the fact that they can’t even successfully prosecute a war against a much weaker neighbor. So we got to stop, you know, being fearful or bowing down to Russia. We need to stand up to Russia. We need to defend Ukraine, support Ukraine, and if it’s done the right way, this will end positively. It’s all about peace through strength. There’s peace through strength and there’s war through weakness. There’s no magical third option.
WEIJIA JIANG: Well, President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio have said that the US has to figure out if a deal is doable in a matter of days, or just move on. And on Friday, I asked President Trump about this fresh sense of urgency. Here’s what he said.
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WEIJIA JIANG: What do you need to see from both sides in order to keep negotiations going? What do you want to see from Russia and Ukraine?
DONALD TRUMP: I have to see- my whole life has been one big negotiation, and I know when people are playing us, and I know when they’re not. And I have to see an enthusiasm to want to end it.
[END SOUND ON TAPE]
WEIJIA JIANG: How much of this demand, Congressman for enthusiasm, do you think it’s a direct message to Russia, and how much time do these two sides have to get something done?
REP. FITZPATRICK: Well, I hope it’s directed to Russia. I think it is directed to Russia. I can tell you, President Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian people. I know them well, Weijia. I have lived there as an FBI agent. I was assigned there as a- working Russian counterintelligence. They want peace. They’re a peaceful nation. There are democratically elected- elected officials, including President Zelenskyy. They want peace. They did not ask for this invasion. They did not provoke this invasion. They were invaded by Vladimir Putin, who had been telegraphing this punch for years. We all knew what he was intending to do, and now he’s doing it. He views the fall of the Soviet Union as the greatest geopolitical disaster of our lifetimes, and he’s trying to reconstitute it. Step one is Ukraine. We cannot allow him to do that, and what we also can’t allow is for the precedent being set here that dictators are going to be rewarded for violating the territorial borders and territorial sovereignty of their neighbors. We cannot reward that. So, you know, I- I want to say this too. I think Secretary Rubio is doing a great job. He’s a smart man. He understands Putin, he understands the dynamic of the- of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the history there, and I have full faith in his ability to barter a just and fair agreement. But it’s important to remember, and this applies to all agreements where we facilitate as a nation, that it’s ultimately up to the nations to accept and abide by those conditions. President Zelensky, the Ukrainian people desperately want peace. They’ve always wanted peace. They were a peaceful nation before Russia wrongfully invaded them, and they want to get it back, but it’s got to be a just and lasting peace.
WEIJIA JIANG: And very quickly, Congressman, because we have to let you go soon. But if these talks fail, the President was ambiguous about whether the Administration would continue to support Ukraine, and Speaker Johnson has earlier said that there was no appetite for additional aid. So will there be a new bill on the House floor, quickly?
REP. FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I don’t want to get ahead of the administration or the Speaker, but I will just leave it at this. I will do everything in my power to make sure that Ukraine wins this fight and that Russia loses, and that we have a peaceful settlement. If you look at every time the Ukraine support has been put on the House floor, overwhelming support.
WEIJIA JIANG: Thank you, Congressman Fitzpatrick, really appreciate your time.
