Condoleezza Rice gives a speech at Notre Dame

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- Notre Dame hosted former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visited her alma mater on Thursday for a conference to discuss the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Rice used her past knowledge of Russian president Vladimir Putin to dissect how the current invasion of Ukraine could possibly threaten the national security of neighboring countries in the future.

However, the former Secretary of State believes that the current unity of NATO allies will discourage Putin from expanding the attack beyond Ukrainian boarders.

"I don’t think Putin wants a fight with NATO. You might see a little bit of crowing about what he'll do to supply lines and so forth and so on, but I don’t think he wants any part of a conflict with the United States. So, I think we can deter him in places that are part of NATO,” said Rice.

Rice acquired her master’s degree in political science from Notre Dame in 1975 before receiving an honorary doctorate in 1995.