Russian Presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev gave an extensive interview to Kommersant on Nov. 11, regarding Russian maritime policy in his role Chairman of the Maritime Collegium of Russia, to which he was recently appointed. The first question, however, had to do with the results of the Nov. 5 American election, specifically inquiring whether the change of power would bring positive changes from Russia’s point of view. “Donald Trump has relied on certain forces to achieve electoral success, to which he has corresponding obligations. And as a responsible person, he will be obliged to fulfill them.
“During the pre-election period, he made many statements to attract voters to his side, who eventually voted against the destructive foreign and domestic policies pursued by the current U.S. presidential administration. But the election campaign is over, and in January 2025, it will be time for the President-elect to get down to business. It is well known that election promises in the United States can often diverge from subsequent actions.”
Kommersant then commented on the possibility of future assassination attempts on President-elect Trump. “You’ve raised a pertinent issue,” Patrushev said. “We know of two attempts on his life during the election campaign. Overall, there have been more than 20 attempts on the lives of presidents and candidates in the history of the United States. Four U.S. Presidents have died at the hands of assassins while in office. Therefore, it is extremely important for the United States intelligence services not to allow such cases to happen again.”
The rest of the interview dealt with the question of maritime strategy. Patrushev observed NATO attempts to restrict the Russian presence in both the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea, stressing: “Russia stands firmly on the Black Sea, and we will not allow our positions in this region to be weakened. Even more so, we will not tolerate the permanent naval presence of non-Black Seas states in violation of the Montreux Convention.”
