Russia ‘prepared for any scenario’ on Ukraine war as Trump presidency nears
As United States President-elect Donald Trump prepares to re-enter the White House next week, there is uncertainty on both sides of the Ukraine war.
The world is waiting with bated breath to see whether he will maintain the US’s commitment to Kyiv’s defence, or strike some sort of deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
As United States President-elect Donald Trump prepares to re-enter the White House next week, there is uncertainty on both sides of the Ukraine war.
The world is waiting with bated breath to see whether he will maintain the US’s commitment to Kyiv’s defence, or strike some sort of deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
“Today, the Kremlin’s attitude is much more sober and prepared for any scenario, both that there will be a new escalation and that Trump will propose some peace deal, although it is not highly expected,” she said, on expectations that the Republican leader will present a solid proposal all parties agree on.
“The intrigue of the whole situation is that Trump, his team, the Kremlin, Kyiv, or Europe – no one knows what will happen.”
‘Completely different’ understandings of the conflict
In December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed reported peace plans proposed by Trump’s team, which included Ukraine giving up parts of its territory currently occupied by Russia, putting Ukraine’s potential NATO bid on hold for 20 years, and deploying European peacekeepers.
Lavrov said Russia was “certainly not satisfied with the proposals made by representatives of the president-elect’s team to postpone Ukraine’s membership in NATO for 20 years and to deploy a peacekeeping contingent of ‘UK and European forces’ in Ukraine”.
Ilya Budraitskis, a Russian historian, social scientist and visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, told Al Jazeera: “The understanding of the essence of this conflict and the basis for negotiations is completely different between Moscow and Washington under Trump.
“Trump considers how to solve the issue related to the border of the Russian Federation with Ukraine. From the Kremlin’s point of view, the issue of this war is completely different, connected with reviewing the current architecture of European security and the question of spheres of influence in the post-Soviet space.”
