Kari Lake Demands Ukraine Peace Talks to Avoid 'World War III'

Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has accused the U.S. media and "globalist" political leaders of failing to back peace talks to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, raising the risk of World War III breaking out.

Speaking to Hungarian television, Lake, who is in the east European country to attend CPAC Hungary which is taking place in Budapest on May 4 and 5, questioned why the U.S. is continuing to send military aid to Ukraine to assist with its fight against the Russian invasion.

The Republican described how the war in Ukraine is a "huge threat" for the people of Hungary given its proximity, but it is also a threat to the U.S. as "we are watching our hard earned treasure going over to, what looks like, fund World War III."

Lake is one of a number of Republican figures who have criticized the U.S. for sending hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military aid to Ukraine to assist with fighting, rather than call for peace talks amid fears the war could escalate.

Former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Lake in the midterm election she lost to Katie Hobbs in November 2022, has frequently claimed he could end the war "within 24 hours," without revealing how.

In March, the former president told Fox News' Sean Hannity that part of his suggested peace plan would be to allow Russia to "take over" parts of Ukraine.

Elsewhere during her appearance on Hungarian media, Lake described Joe Biden's presidency as a "disaster" and said that the people in her own state are asking why resources are being used in Ukraine rather than securing the border in Arizona.

"The people of Arizona are asking why are we sending $200 billion to Ukraine, why are we sending weapons and ammunition to Ukraine to start a war half the world away when we have an invasion on own border," Lake said.

"And frankly all of the people who are telling the truth, and all the people who are talking about peace are being castigated in the fake news media."

A figure of $200 billion has been repeatedly quoted as the U.S. total spending on Ukraine, but a Newsweek fact check last month found that the figure was false. It concluded that Congress has approved $113 billion for spending in Ukraine, while researchers tracking spending suggested that around $77 billion had gone directly to Ukraine, in a combination of financial, military and other forms of aid.

Lake added that U.S. media is going after what she called "the truth tellers and the peacemakers," which she said included Trump and Hungary's populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán.

"I hear those two men talking about peace, but I hear the saber-rattling and the drum beat of 'let's start a war' from a lot of these countries with globalist-type political leaders," Lake said.

Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin were previously believed to be allies, although the Hungarian prime minister has appeared to turn on his Russian counterpart amid the war in Ukraine, including supporting Ukraine's membership application to the EU.

Lake and Orban are scheduled to speak at CPAC Hungary, the second time the conservative event is being held in the country.

Other Republican figures who are set to appear include Arizona congressman Paul Gosar, Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum.