The view in Moscow is that they will watch President-elect Donald Trump’s feet more than his mouth. First, Russian President Vladimir Putin will refrain from formally congratulating Trump until the election result is officially confirmed, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Assumedly, this would mean no earlier than the convening of the Electoral College. Asked today about a call from Putin to Trump, Peskov said he wasn’t aware of any plans at this point, but reminded the press: “Let’s not forget that we are talking about an unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in the war against our state.”
On Trump’s promise to move immediately on ending the Ukraine conflict, Peskov responded: “Yes, this statement is quite important. But now, after the victory … when entering the Oval Office, sometimes statements take on a different tone. That’s why we say that we carefully analyze everything, observe everything, and draw conclusions based on specific words and concrete steps.”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russia 24 TV channel today that Trump’s promise to end international conflicts “must be followed by actions, concrete actions.” As RT summed up her position: “The international community will be judging Trump’s second presidency based on what he does, rather than what he says. She also suggested that Trump’s promise to end foreign wars was an acknowledgment that the U.S. needs to focus on its own problems.”
Zakharova issued an official statement in response to a media question on the ministry website: “In general, it makes no difference for Russia what the election outcome will be, given the two-party consensus that emerged in the United States regarding the confrontation toward our country. If anything changes in the U.S. policy and any proposals to us appear, we will be ready to examine them in terms of matching Russia’s interests. In any case Russia will resolutely defend its interests, particularly where national security is concerned.
“It would be logical for the next U.S. president, whoever he or she may be, to focus on solving own country’s problems and not looking for adventures tens of thousands of miles away from the U.S. cost.
“We wish the American nation to overcome the crisis of democracy and the split in society.”
Deputy Chair of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, the former President, posted on Telegram today, proclaiming: “I wrote in Telegram a couple of days ago about the furious bipartisan anti-Russian consensus on Capitol Hill.” But, he went on, Trump had “one quality that’s useful for us. As a dyed-in-the-wool businessman, he hates wasting money on all sorts of freeloaders and tagalongs: on wacko allies, misguided grandiose charity projects, and insatiable international organizations.”
“Toxic Bandera Ukraine is in the same row.” He concluded: “The only question is, how much will Trump be forced to fork out on the war? He’s stubborn, but the system is more powerful.” (Emphasis in original.)
