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Published January 26, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "Your World," February 19, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: All right, we are just getting word of a possible truce in the Ukraine, of course, that has seen 26 fatalities in just the last couple of days, as riots have broken out here.
The president of the Ukraine saying he and the opposition leader to plan to hold talks. Whether that is an outright truce, right now, it's to a cessation of all hostilities.
Ron Paul says, let them solve this, not us. The congressman joins us now from Texas.
Congressman, you're leery about getting involved in something like this. Why?
RON PAUL, R-FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: Because the American people are very leery about getting involved in another squabble in some other country.
No, I think this is a good plan. I think the leadership on both sides, talking this over is the best thing that they can do for the Ukrainian people. But I would be willing to wager that the -- most of the people in the Ukraine would like to see the United States stay out and they would like to see the Russians stay out.
So for the two leaders to talk, I think is wonderful. I just hope that it just doesn't aggravate the contest between the West, the Europeans and the Americans, against the Russians, because that wouldn't be good for the -- the Ukrainians.
So I think talking and diplomacy is the answer here. Why should we have to witness a civil war going in there -- going on in there and then us get involved? I think the further we stay away from there, the better.
CAVUTO: You know, Congressman, on a different crisis in Syria, Senator John McCain was here saying that our dillydallying on this kind of stuff -- paraphrasing, sir -- not backing up threats of action and even just sort of waiting for talks to do their thing, the world has our number. They know that we will never act, that we have all become very, very anxious about getting involved in foreign conflicts and they know that we will never do it. So our bluff is always called.
What do you say?
PAUL: I wish that were so. And maybe that would be the standard.
But what has the world witnessed in the past 50 years? Did we waver about Korea and Vietnam and Afghanistan and Iraq? I mean, we -- we go back and forth on it, but we have been involved way too much. It's just because the American people are fed up with it all, especially when the plans were made to bomb Syria, that people started speaking out.
So wavering, we could use a lot more wavering. We could use a lot more discipline in trying to set a moral standard here at home and taking care of our own business, but not getting engaged over there. So, I think the more procrastination, the better, because he's saying, McCain is saying, well, we didn't go over here, we should probably have sent troops in, or some other silly thing. But here the two leaders of the two factions are talking, and that's the way it should be. The Ukrainian people should do this. And my personal hope would be that they could, you know, come up with some type of a separation. I like smaller units of government, and I like the idea of self-determination.
And it is a country that does have a division line in there. One is more European and one more -- the other side is more Russian. So it's a very natural place to develop a coalition. And that's what they should be talking about. They could have a confederation. They could still have a country, but they could have a bit of independence.
CAVUTO: But we should butt out, but for them to decide and not us to decide is where you're coming from.
PAUL: That's -- that's absolutely the case.
CAVUTO: OK.
PAUL: That's -- that's their business and it certainly isn't ours. We have tried it for too long. And the American people are sick and tired of it. And we're also out of money, just as an incidental finding.
CAVUTO: Real quickly, does your son Rand Paul concur?
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL: I don't know. I haven't talked to him about it.
CAVUTO: Really? OK.
He's running for president, right?
PAUL: Oh, is he? Yes, that's -- I heard about that.
CAVUTO: I heard that.
PAUL: Somebody told me he was doing real well. I don't know...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Yes. I don't know. I thought the name would be a drag, but go figure. I'm kidding.
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL: Oh.
CAVUTO: Ron Paul, thank you very, very much. It's always a pleasure.
PAUL: Good.
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