Is Trump Disrupting the Long-standing Rules of US-Russia Relations?

The details and framework of Donald Trump's peace agreement plan for Ukraine remain unclear, but after a week of unprecedented verbal attacks against Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, the rift between Europe and Washington has become more pronounced. Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union who will become Chancellor of Germany, has openly expressed his skepticism about NATO's continued operation in its current form. After his party's victory in the German parliamentary elections, he stated in a televised speech on Sunday, March 5, 'After Donald Trump's remarks last week, it is clear that America is fundamentally indifferent to Europe's fate. I am very curious about the developments from today until the next NATO summit at the end of June. The main concern is whether NATO will remain in its current form or whether we will be forced to create European independent defense capabilities much more quickly.' In the three years since the beginning of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, everything has changed rapidly. Three years ago, on the eve of the Russian military invasion, Joe Biden, the then President of the United States, warned that if Vladimir Putin sent armored columns into Ukraine, 'Russia would pay a heavy price.' In part of this important speech, Biden said, 'Our nations and our world have differing views on many issues, but standing against Russia's aggression is not among the disagreements. The American people are united. Europe is united. The Atlantic sides are united. Political parties in America are united. The entire free world is united.' Apparently, this perception of unity and effectiveness among Western countries is no longer a reality. On Friday, the US and Russia began the first round of bilateral talks in Riyadh without the presence of Ukraine, raising concerns about a move towards an agreement between the two countries without the participation of Ukraine and Washington's European allies. On the other hand, it seems that Mr. Trump has discarded the long-standing rules of US-Russia relations. He described the President of Ukraine as an 'unelected dictator' without justification and suggested that it was not Vladimir Putin but Mr. Zelensky who initiated Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. Furthermore, it appears that Donald Trump has torn up the old protocols of US-Russia relations and intensified attacks on Volodymyr Zelensky. These statements seem to reflect Putin's distorted narrative of history. In a televised speech broadcast on the morning of February 24, 2022, the day of the military attack on Ukraine, the Russian President justified the military invasion of Ukraine by weaving half-truths, distortions, and outright lies, claiming that the 'Western bloc' forced Russia into military action. In some respects, one could say that the change in Washington's policy towards Russia during Donald Trump's presidency is not entirely new. Mr. Trump indirectly stated at the 2018 Helsinki summit that he trusted Vladimir Putin's words more than those of US security agencies, which had reported that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Trump's remarks sparked outrage and disgust among senior American officials. The repetition or, in other words, the recycling of Kremlin claims regarding the war in Ukraine by senior Trump administration officials can be seen as a sign of the current US government's deepening distance from European allies. However, it remains unclear to what extent Trump's repetition of Vladimir Putin's claims will become official Washington policy. Trump's remarks at the 2018 Helsinki summit caused considerable anger, and critics accused the then-President of capitulating to the Kremlin's claim of non-interference in the 2016 presidential election. What transpired at that summit did not, in practice, affect the relations between the two countries, and since then, relations between Moscow and Washington have generally remained at their lowest level since the end of the Cold War. Kyiv and European powers have responded very decisively to Donald Trump's narrative of the war in Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, stated in a social media Q&A session that Russia is responsible for the war. International support for Ukraine on the third anniversary of the Russian military invasion was also very significant. We must wait and see how much of Trump's recent comments on Ukraine will become official Washington policy. However, at least symbolically, the unified and united approach of both sides of the Atlantic towards Russia no longer seems as certain as in the past.