Trump does not want Ukraine to lose during his term – Volker
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will seek to avoid Ukraine's defeat in the war with Russia during his term, Ambassador, Special Representative of the U.S. Government for Ukraine Negotiations (2017-2019) Kurt Volker said.
"When it comes to Trump, there are people around him who strongly support Ukraine, and, of course, there are those who do not. But their motives are usually personal. As for Trump himself, he does not want to fail. He does not want Ukraine to fail under his rule and to be held responsible for it," Volker said at the 10th Kyiv Forum on Youth Security, organized by the Open Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation.
He gave the example of the situation with Afghanistan, when Trump agreed with Biden that the presence of American troops there was not in the long-term interests of the United States.
"However, he did not withdraw the troops himself, realizing that this could potentially be a disaster. He explicitly stated that he would not do this, and, as we have seen, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan under Biden did not make a very good impression. Therefore, it is the same with Ukraine: Trump does not want to lose," Volker believes.
He said "Trump often accuses Biden of weakness and believes that the reason for the war in Ukraine is America's weakness."
"Therefore, in his opinion, America should be strong again. Perhaps not immediately after the elections, but Trump can call Putin and demand to withdraw his troops, for example, by January 20. We do not know if he will do it," he said.
If Kamala Harris wins the election, Volker suggests that she will probably continue Biden's policy, which, in his opinion, is not bad. The ambassador also added that it is already necessary to think about what will happen after 2025, when a ceasefire and active hostilities may cease. He suggested that the North Atlantic Alliance will work on fuses so that Russia cannot advance further and start aggression against Ukraine.
The Kyiv Youth Security Forum is a leading platform for engaging young leaders in discussions on national security and international relations.
