... loud and wait-and-see. Loud in terms of rhetoric. Wait-and-see in the hope that the Russian side will not withstand and collapse. Fortunately, there are many who support the theory of Russia's imminent decline. The problem for the EU is that not only Donald Trump, but also Vladimir Putin differs from the aforementioned Emperor Paul I. While Brussels hopes for the fatal blow with the snuffbox, Russia lives its own life. Apparently, Washington was the first to realise this.
What shall be done with Ukraine?
Vladislav Belov:
US-EU Economic and Political Conflict in the Second Trump Era
The answer to the Ukraine question is also seemingly simple: support Kiev
by all means possible.
In the short term, the practical policy here is more or less clear: ...
... reached a new level. NATO expanded again. The EU moderated its criticism of the US over Iran and subsequently reinstated sanctions against Tehran. Closer cooperation in technology and the search for a common platform to contain China emerged.
The rise of Donald Trump has fundamentally eroded transatlantic solidarity on Ukraine.
The White House’s diplomatic overtures to Moscow were met with a muted and sceptical reception in Brussels. The European Union maintained its adherence to the original paradigm of the conflict: that Russia’s position is illegitimate and must ...
... convince the US leader to extend maximum support to Kyiv despite earlier Trump’s statements about his intention to cut a “deal” with Vladimir Putin. So, what if Zelensky, being a talented performer and a professional communicator, could convince Donald Trump to change his mind on the need for robust US security guarantees to Ukraine? What if the White House promises Kyiv even more military and political support in 2025 in order to exercise additional pressure on Moscow? What if the unpredictable and fickle US President finally decides to open the door to a full-fledged Ukrainian ...
... fully control now (Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye) and maybe even to advance further West. (Kharkov, Odessa and so on). To reach a compromise between these two positions would be truly a formidable task.
Future status of Ukraine
According to Donald Trump, Ukraine should not become a NATO member—at least, in the foreseeable future. He remains skeptical about a possible Ukrainian contribution to the Alliance security, he does not want to enlarge the NATO’s zone of responsibility, and he does not want ...
... the Ukrainian front, further territorial losses for Kiev and military successes for Russia. Freezing the conflict would give Ukraine the necessary breathing space.
The second reason is limited resources. Supporting Kiev requires tens of billions of dollars.... ... and more questions, especially given American budgetary needs in other areas.
The third reason is the political ambitions of Donald Trump, who may try to end the costly conflict on terms that are acceptable to the United States, and chalk up a diplomatic ...
... year of 2019, and another $1.103 trillion projected to be added in 2020. Recently, on December 20th of last year, President Donald Trump signed into existence the huge 2,300-page general bill that includes two spending packages that approximate to $1.... ....’ Such an allegation has been present in every other impeachment in history, but not here.”
Nonetheless,
foreign aid to Ukraine
is at the core of the issue. Specifically, the aid amounted to $391 million of military and medical equipment to assist ...
... United States. However, it is the first time that non-Trump powers are so aligned and united in an endeavour to maximize their efforts to impeach Trump. In this sense, the leaked telephone talk between the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Donald Trump served as a perfect reason to intensify domestic pressure on the American President, who arguably conditioned military assistance to Ukraine in exchange for investigation of Democratic presidential hopeful for 2020, Joe Biden. In this respect, the assumption is that if Trump's opponents eventually succeed, among other things, they will completely reverse his foreign policy trajectory....
... Issue by Finding a Compromise Solution, then the Russian Leadership Has no Reason to Rejoice at Ukraine-Gate
The significance and possible consequences of Ukraine-Gate unfolding in Washington can be assessed in different ways. The suggestion that Donald Trump is trying to use the “Ukraine card” to drive Democrat Joe Biden out of the 2020 presidential race seems absurd to his supporters, but quite convincing to his opponents. Without going into the details of the ongoing scandal, let us try to assess what it means for Moscow, ...
... conversation the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents held in September 2019, albeit with the former’s consent, creates a precedent with far-reaching consequences. The opportunity was immediately seized on both sides of the Atlantic. Zelensky’s opponents in Ukraine happily demanded that the transcripts of his telephone conversations with Putin be made public too. Democrats on Capitol Hill are urging their enemy president to do the same…
One can only fanaticize about how such releases can impact not only ...
... One of those that stands up front and center at the moment is the status of the Crimea, but there are other areas around the world where actually we could agree and start some useful dialogue. One of them is what’s going on in and around the East of Ukraine at the moment. But as we just throw rocks at each other about the things we can’t agree about, we’re unlikely to make progress in those areas where we might.
As much as it may sound unpleasing to Russian politicians, we can consider NATO policy ...
