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Addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside Washington the other day, former US President Donald Trump promised to stop the war in Ukraine in 24 hours if elected president. His speech implies that the Republican hopeful has decided to make the ongoing conflict a key issue of his election campaign, appearing as a candidate for peace, not war.
He claims able to achieve settlement even before entering the Oval Office. He said as president he got along with both official Kiev and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Therefore, it would be "very easy" for him to find ways of resolving the conflict, which needs an immediate settlement. Having failed to specify how exactly he was going to achieve this, Trump certainly realizes that an end to the war in Ukraine does not depend on him and is actually Russia’s prerogative. But he has apparently made maximum use of lengths he had to go to win voters!
Speaking at the CPAC on March 5, he also pledged to persuade European allies to spend more on Ukraine to get on par with the United States itself. Washington has allocated $140 billion in aid to Kiev, while for all the EU countries combined this figure only stands at $15-16 billion. This kind of financial burden distribution is unfair, the 45th president of America said, because Europe is more affected by the conflict and deems attaining success in it more important.
Let’s make it clear that the United States and the EU allocated a corresponding $76 billion and $56 billion in aid to Ukraine by mid-January this year. As you can see, the difference is not as huge as Trump is trying to present. But it was vital for him to emphasize Washington's special role in the conflict and demonstrate US superiority over Europe. He also sought to give Germany a pinch, as it used to be EU engine but recently turned into an ordinary member, largely thanks to efforts by the United States.
The statement by the ex-president about the need for Europe to spend more on backing Kiev, stands in direct conflict with his own previous words, because it is clear to any sane person that new weapon supplies to the Kiev regime extend the conflict and hardly contribute to its completion. By the way, Joe Biden’s current Democratic administration partly understands that this may also entail its defeat in 2024, among other factors. But contrary to reason, the White House keeps pumping more cutting-edge weaponry into Ukraine, including tanks and artillery. Small wonder that, according to the US media, the Biden administration is pressing for f Ukrainian counteroffensive and awaiting victory on the battlefield so as to enter into dialogue with Russia from the best negotiating positions.
Anyway, Donald Trump made it clear in his CPAC speech that his Ukraine policy would differ fundamentally from that of the current US administration, emphasizing that the outcome of hostilities is not as important for America as it is for Europe. And this clearly contradicts Washington’s official statements, as it makes safety, well-being and fate of democracy worldwide depend on how the conflict ends.
Seemingly eager to avoid another wave of accusations of "colluding with Russia", Donald Trump reminded those present of his past hard line towards Vladimir Putin (although he "got along well with him"). Like no one else did he oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was already "dead" by the end of his presidential term. Trump also touched upon a personal conversation he once had with President Putin to tell him not to seize countries and thus avert a heavy blow against Moscow.
One can easily observe that Donald Trump's stance on the conflict contradicts both the US official line pursued by the Biden-led Democrats, and the stance taken by top-ranking Republican politicians, whether it be House Speaker Kevin McCarthy or Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell. To some extent, all of them declared intention to support official Kiev "as long as it takes", albeit with certain reservations about the need for greater accountability of funds allocated. And certainly, none of them publicly insisted to bring the war to an end immediately while maintaining the status quo.
At the same time, the war in Ukraine, if it lasts until November 2024, may well backfire on the ruling Democrats, although they won’t decide the fate of elections – after all, American voters are traditionally more concerned about domestic rather than foreign policy. But even now the idea that supporting Kiev is a heavy burden for American taxpayers does resonate with part of the electorate, which does not implicitly trust any of the two obvious candidates – Joe Biden or Donald Trump. According to the recent opinion polls, the current US president has an anti-rating of 55% as compared to Trump’s 61%.
In fact, a growing number of American people have become disillusioned with their country's political elite and see no single leader able to help America forward and make it "Great Again" with no unlesses…
