‘Too early to rejoice’: Why Russia isn’t celebrating Trump win – yet
Al Jazeera
Russia will gain from Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to negotiate a ceasefire but is unsure about how much he can do to end the war.
When Donald Trump first took the United States presidency after winning the 2016 election, there were hopes in Moscow that the billionaire-turned-politician would be friendlier to Russia’s interests.
It didn’t exactly play out that way. Despite indictments of multiple Trump associates over allegations that the Kremlin tried to sway elections in Trump’s favour, he amped up sanctions against Moscow and boosted Ukraine’s defensive capabilities with Javelin missiles once in office.
Now eight years later with Trump winning the presidential race this week by defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, the reaction from the Kremlin has so far been far more muted.
While a stream of world leaders – from French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to NATO chief Mark Rutte and Chinese President Xi Jinping – has congratulated Trump on his win, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not. This contrasts with 2016 when Putin was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump on his electoral victory.
“Let’s not forget that we are talking about an unfriendly country, which is both directly and indirectly involved in the war against our state,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday morning.
