US President Barack Obama in July announced that Washington would deploy 1,000 troops in Poland, a country that has expressed concerns of a similar Russian military intervention as the one seen in Crimea in 2014. In the chaotic aftermath, Russian-backed separatists seized the Crimea, a Ukrainian territory that Moscow later annexed.
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“As far as Ukraine is concerned, it’s a mess”. Baltic states also called for a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation build-up in their countries, citing similar fears. America’s response has been tough, but limited by the nuanced nature of Putin’s challenge.
When host George Stephanopoulos pushed back, noting the 2014 invasion that dominated headlines and caused major global powers to boot Russian Federation from the G8 group of nations, Trump dismissed the annexation.
On the topic of Putin and Ukraine, the Republican said: “He’s not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand”. “He’s not going to go into Ukraine, all right?” You can put it down.
“You want to go back?” And so smart. When you see the riots in a country because they’re hurting the Russians, okay, “We’ll go and take it over.’ And he really goes step by step by step, and you have to give him a lot of credit”. Well, he’s there in a certain way. “And frankly that part of the world is mess, under Obama”.
Trump suggested he might have a different position on the matter, however, saying that he was willing to “take a look at” recognizing Crimea as Russian, saying that he believes many Crimean would rather be in Russia than in Ukraine.
One of the principles that has governed global relations since 1945 has been that borders can not be changed by force.
A year ago, US media cited military officials as saying they suspected Russian hackers had broken into an unclassified email system used by some 4,000 military and civilian employees of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff. There have been serious questions about the referendums staged by Russia in Crimea – numerous region’s people fled after the Russian occupation. During the interview with Stephanopoulos, Trump admitted that he did not meet Putin while appearing on the news program because the two were shot in different locations. That has led to widespread anxiety in countries like Estonia and Poland.
TRUMP: “If we can have a good relationship with Russian Federation and if Russian Federation would help us get rid of ISIS. that would be a positive thing, not a negative thing”.
Trump attempted to clarify his position on the conflict between Ukraine and Russian Federation in a series of tweets Monday morning, after he was criticized for his muddled response in the interview. Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort consulted for former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich, a key Putin ally, until his ouster in February 2014.
The Republican’s latest statements sparked outrage in Ukraine, which considers the U.S. its most important sponsor and seeks to become a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member. “If I need debt, if I want debt, I can get it from banks in New York City very easily”. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing”, he said.
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Yanukovych came to power under Manafort’s tutelage in 2010. Can anyone seriously argue that positive relations between America and Russian Federation on issues of mutual concern wouldn’t be an asset to world peace?
