Steve Gutterman
(RFE/RL) — The common view is that an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine is nowhere in sight. But Donald Trump’s election could generate a push to reach a peace deal — with Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and others wrangling over the potential terms.
Trump’s victory in the November 5 presidential vote set the clock ticking, in a way, because he repeatedly said during the campaign that he would be able to end the war very quickly if elected, without even waiting for his inauguration on January 20.
Russian President Vladimir Putin seized on this in his first public remarks about the U.S. election result, saying on November 7 that what he called Trump’s statements about a desire to “revive relations” with Russia and help end the war in Ukraine “deserve attention, to say the least.”
That comment came amid high praise from Putin for Trump: He said that the now president-elect had shown “courage” and “acted like a man” when a would-be assassin shot at him in July, and that his impression was that during his 2017-2021 term, Trump was straitjacketed and prevented from pursuing his goals.
Putin’s words were delivered in a way that was clearly meant to seem casual and off-the-cuff. But they suggest that the Kremlin will try to leverage the change of power in the United States, and Trump’s hopes of brokering peace, in a bid to further its own goals in Ukraine.
No comments:
Post a Comment