Trump and his team show signs of moving away from “friendship with Putin”, says diplomat

Diplomat Volodymyr Ohryzko expressed this opinion on Espreso TV during an interview with Espreso TV.

“I like what is happening now in the U.S. Senate, which shows that either Trump has decided to use the Senate to do what he personally does not want to do — pressure Russia — or this is an initiative of the reasonable part of the American political establishment. It should be noted that over 60% of Americans support continuing military aid to Ukraine. Accordingly, American politicians need to respond to public sentiment. Republicans, first and foremost, understand this and can explain to their leader that playing a different game means losing not only his personal popularity but also America’s standing and its role as the leader of what is still a democratic world,” noted Volodymyr Ohryzko.

According to him, Washington should also consider the role of the American military-industrial complex. After all, at the very least, if the U.S. stops aid to Ukraine, it would mean the end of billions in earnings for the U.S. defense industry, something Trump talks about daily and hourly.

“I would say that our European partners should play a role here because they fully understand what it means to be united with the U.S. in this matter. They are very afraid that Trump might turn toward Putin, fully aware that Putin is deceiving him with talks of some mythical cosmic economic cooperation that won’t happen in the coming years. It’s absolute nonsense that will lead nowhere. Trump doesn’t need practical results; he is the king of populism, so he only needs statements about future results that will never come, but that’s for the next president to figure out,” the diplomat commented.

In his opinion, there are many things that, unfortunately, contradict each other, and it is difficult to predict what will ultimately happen and which of these factors will exert greater pressure on Trump.

“There are some signs that both Trump and his inner circle are gradually moving away from the line of ‘friendship and love with Putin,’ because they are increasingly convinced that Putin is not a leader you can negotiate with, but a maniacal killer who can only be stopped by force,” Ohryzko concluded.

• Earlier, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham stated that Russia is "more isolated than ever" today. He also addressed Russians, saying that Vladimir Putin is "leading them into an abyss."
• Republican Senator Chuck Grassley also emphasized that U.S. President Donald Trump should impose tough sanctions on Russia.