russian dictator vladimir putin may be trying to give the appearance that he is building a relationship with Donald Trump, but in reality putin is signaling to his domestic audience that the Kremlin is unwilling to give in to any aspect of its maximalist goals in Ukraine or on the wider world stage. This is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), according to UNN.
"russian president vladimir putin seems to assume that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will submit to the kremlin's interests and preferences without offering any concessions or benefits in return," the report said.
ISW notes that putin, during a speech at the valdai club on November 7, said that he was open to discussions aimed at "restoring" US-russian relations, but that the US should start these talks, and hinted that russia would only consider a reset of US-russian relations if the US lifted sanctions against russia and stopped supporting Ukraine - conditions that benefit russia alone and do not benefit the United States.
On November 8, kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov said that putin's statement about talks with the United States does not mean that russia's military goals in Ukraine have changed, but rather that russia's goals remain the same.
putin may be trying to create the appearance that he is mending fences with Trump, but in reality putin is signaling to his domestic audience that the kremlin is unwilling to give in to any aspect of its maximalist goals in Ukraine or on the wider world stage
russian opposition outlet Meduza reported that the kremlin has issued a manual for state and pro-kremlin media with instructions to cover putin's statements at valdai, emphasizing russia's special role in creating the proposed "new world order" and portraying putin as the "world's ‘greatest’ leader" whose deep thinking, "breadth of political thought" and role as "the voice of the global majority and the new world order" set him apart from Western political leaders, presumably including Trump.
It is noted that putin's proposed "new world order" emphasizes an interconnected international system without great powers or security blocs, but the kremlin's actions contradict and undermine the ideals and principles he proposed.
putin has presented a six-point plan for his "new world order," which includes:
- openness between states to interact with each other;
- lack of universal dogmas;
- taking into account the perspectives of all countries when making global decisions;
- rejection of security blocs that unite groups of states;
- “justice for all”, including the eradication of xenophobia and intolerance; and ‘sovereign equality’ of all states.
However, as ISW points out, putin's proposal ignores the kremlin's ongoing efforts to increase its power and influence in neighboring countries, including attempts to destabilize Moldova and Georgia, flirting with a group of anti-Western states such as North Korea, the People's Republic of China and Iran, and waging its illegal and unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine.
"The kremlin likely aims to use this rhetoric to distract and provide plausible deniability to russia's very real efforts to undermine pro-Western governments and exert its influence internationally, as well as to promote the expansion of BRICS and the so-called 'new Eurasian security architecture' that the kremlin has created to counter NATO," the ISW report says.
Addendum
putin congratulated trump on his election victory. The russian dictator said he was ready to resume contacts with Western leaders.
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