The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Russia might be Achilles heel of Trump foreign policy. During his campaign, and after taking oath of office for president of United States, Trump was accused of having something to do with Russia.
Trump always lambasted the report of Russian interventions in US presidential elections. The Republican billionaire disparaged those who accused Putin directing Russian hacking. The intelligence report blamed Russian president of helping Trump win White House. The report further said that Putin aimed to undermine confidence in the US electoral system. Trump ridiculed intel report and said he didn’t believe it. After Obama expelled Russian diplomats, Trump told Moscow to have patience, assuring that things would change after January 20, the day of Trump oath taking. And when Obama administration ordered further investigation in the hacking, Trump called it a political witch-hunt. Trump never believed in intelligence findings and kept defending Russia and Putin.
But Trump faced rude awakening when Michael Flynn, national security advisor, had to resign on February 13, accepting that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian envoy Sergey Ivanovick Kislyak even before Trump’s inauguration. Flynn admitted that he assured Kisalyak that Trump administration would remove sanctions imposed on Russia after Moscow annexed Crimea. The controversy has also led to calls by Democrats for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign after he failed to disclose his own meetings with the envoy.
Trump appears to have changed his tack as he is facing a new wave of questions about his ties to Russia. Trump told his advisers and allies that he might halt his plan to work with Russia to fight IS and put on hold other national security matters. The decision comes as Trump has started to understand the pitfalls of forging closer relations with Russia, as long as the FBI investigates his campaign associates’ connections to Moscow and congressional committees ramp up their probe of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump’s new stance not to broker a deal with Moscow also suggests the rising influence of a new crop of advisers who have taken a tougher stance on Russia, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and new National Security Adviser HR McMaster. McMaster has accused Russian and China of trying to upend the current world order. Mattis and McMaster’s views on Russia may negate those held by Trump.
Further, Trump’s ‘America First’ mantra will be undermined if the new US administration makes any early concessions to Russia. European allies have asked Trump to focus on the importance of the US and Europe sticking together to counter Moscow. Also, Russia’s recent violation of a Cold War-era arms control treaty was among the complicating factors. The Trump administration accused Russia of violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty by deploying a cruise missile. The treaty violation is making Trump’s diplomatic and security agreement with Russia ‘tougher and tougher’ to achieve. The administration echoed that message in conversations with some allies.
The president and his advisers have yet to settle on a formal approach to Russia. Though Trump has continued to talk about a detente with Russia since taking office, there have been some signs of his administration taking a more traditional approach. US President has maintained that he has no nefarious connections or financial ties to Russia, still the firestorm over Flynn debacle will make it difficult for Trump to make a deal with Russia.