Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) said on Tuesday that fellow GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina lacks the skills for dealing with Russia in the past, present or future.
“Man, are we lucky she wasn’t president during the Cold War,” he told host Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”
{mosads}“Carly Fiorina says she doesn’t want to talk to Putin and is ready to use force on Russia,” Paul said.
Paul, who has faced accusations of isolationism in his past, said he’s “for diplomatic engagement,” unlike the former HP CEO.
“People like Carly Fiorina want to diplomatically isolate us and not have discussions with Putin. I think that is very much a mistake.”
Paul argued on Tuesday that Russia’s increasing involvement in the Middle East makes it too volatile for silence between Washington and Moscow.
“We are in very close proximity over there and the last thing we need is an accident where we shoot down one of the Russians or vice-versa,” he said.
{mosads}“I think the first thing that’s important is to have open lines of communication,” Paul said of U.S.-Russia relations.
“We need to know where everybody is flying and what their goal is,” he added of Syria.
“I’m also very worried about some Republicans who want no dialogue as that’s a recipe for disaster. Let’s be very careful that we don’t do something very rash that starts World War III.”
Russia announced last week that it is launching air strikes in Syria against terrorist groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Moscow’s decision puts it at odds with U.S.-backed rebels there fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom President Obama also opposes.
The move is also agitating Turkey, a close American ally that believes Russia is threatening its airspace given it shares a border with Syria.
Fiorina argued last week that she is capable of authorizing force against Putin should tensions in the Middle East keep escalating.
“If it does come to that, I think we must be prepared,” she said when asked about authorizing military action against Russia, also emphasizing it is a last-resort.