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Former US President Donald Trump repeatedly reiterates that he is in a good position to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, saying he has good relations with both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump, throughout his political career, has repeatedly praised Putin… even after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Just days after Russian tanks entered the neighboring country's territory, Trump described the Russian leader as a "smart" political player and expressed admiration for what he said was Russia's quick acquisition of "a huge piece of land." ” at the cost of, according to him, relatively light sanctions.
Trump has also been consistently critical of the US's involvement in the war in Ukraine, saying that instead of giving him aid, he should have given him loans.
He repeated this a few weeks ago in Ohio, while campaigning for his candidacy for president in the elections to be held in November.
"We should lend them money, not send them money. So, let's lend him money and if he succeeds, let him pay us back," said Trump.
Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, the US has been the largest donor of military aid to the occupied country.
But, a new aid package, worth 60 billion dollars, has been blocked in the US Congress for months, due to the opposition of pro-Trump Republicans.
Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, will again run for the White House — most likely against incumbent Joe Biden.
In several appearances, Trump has said that, if elected president, he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, but without saying how. He said that the US does not have ammunition for itself and accused Europe of not contributing enough.
He declined to say whether he would like Ukraine to win the war.
"I want the killings to stop. Russians and Ukrainians are being killed. I want this to stop," Trump told CNN.
Last month, after meeting Trump in the US, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that if elected president, Trump would not finance Ukraine's war against Russia. "This is the reason why the war will end", said Orban.
Commenting on these statements for Radio Free Europe's Expose program, Ben Hodges, former commander of the US military in Europe, says:
"If we listen to what Trump has said in recent weeks, his return would bring about a terrible situation. He has blocked the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, from moving forward with the aid package for Ukraine. So there are no good indicators if he returns".
"Right now, fortunately, the majority of Congress continues to support aid to Ukraine, and there will be ways to move it forward, but it's getting harder," Hodges says.
Grant Reeher, director of the Maxwell School of Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York, says Trump's return to the White House would fundamentally change Biden's multilateralism.
He would emphasize bilateral rather than multilateral relations; it would also reduce American involvement in international affairs, Reeher tells Expose.
"It's also important to note that this is not just about Donald Trump and what he can do as president. The feeling in the US about the aid that should be given to Ukraine is changing. And the way Americans think about the rest of the world is precisely related to thinking about America first," he says.
A survey by the Pew Research Center in the US has found since the middle of last year that the American public's support for Ukraine is declining.
The poll found a higher number of Americans who believe the US should focus more on problems at home.
Retired US general Ben Hodges does not believe the possible withdrawal of US aid would end the war in Ukraine. According to him, such a scenario would not automatically mean the defeat of Ukraine.
"The Ukrainians will not retreat. They know what happens if they back out. Europe, too, is slowly waking up and realizing what a threat Russia poses. Most Eastern European countries that have lived under Russian influence – be they Soviet countries, Warsaw Pact countries or their neighbors – understand the threat. Now even most Western countries understand this," says Hodges.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the funds came from some unforeseen Pentagon savings.
"It is help that Ukraine desperately needs to counter Russian attacks and repel them in the east and in other parts of the country," said Sullivan.
In an interview with Fox News last week, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson said he wants new aid for Ukraine approved "now" and said he would propose a package soon. , after Congress returns from recess on April 9.
Johnson, a Trump ally, said his proposal would include "significant innovations" but did not outline them.
The package, which remains blocked, provides funds mainly for weapons and other military equipment. Johnson has said only that lawmakers will consider three elements: providing aid in the form of loans, using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, and increasing U.S. natural gas exports to reduce Russia's budget revenues. .
Speaking to Politico last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that whatever happens, Ukraine must find a way to engage with the winner of the US election.
"When you're fighting an existential war, the last thing you need to worry about is the outcome of a choice you can't have any influence on because it's other people making the choice. You will have to work with that choice, whatever it is," said Kuleba.
Commenting on the possibility of negotiations between the two countries at war - which Trump has mentioned on several occasions - General Hodges says that anyone who believes that Russia can negotiate in good faith is wrong.
But Reeher from Syracuse University thinks otherwise. He says that the US or other countries can help to bring the parties to the table.
"If the stalemate we're seeing continues for months, I have to think that the pressure to negotiate will increase. The parties cannot remain in this war for a decade. I just don't see how they're going to be able to handle that," says Reeher.
Trump, several times, has said that he would like the US to completely withdraw from NATO - the largest military alliance in the world - as well as from other agreements with the West.
Trump's former adviser, John Bolton, now one of his biggest critics, wrote in his book "The Room Where It Happened: A Memoir from the White House" that "if Trump's first four years were bad, the second four years would be even worse"./ rel
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