How Trump is going to weaken Putin, Xi and Kim — The Hill

Donald Trump. Photo: AP

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to combine threats and friendly relations with some of the world's dictators. The goal is to break the deepening partnerships between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

This was reported by The Hill on Saturday, November 9.

What will be Trump's policy? 

"Whether this will be an effective policy remains to be seen, given Trump's impulsive approach to global affairs and the conflicting views of his likely advisers," writes The Hill.

The newly elected U.S. president blames European allies and NATO for being too dependent on the U.S. for military support. Trump also boasts of his personal relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"We're going to have a very good relationship, and there are reasons for them to like us, there are great reasons," Trump said, referring to Putin, Xi and Kim in the context of the collapse of their alliance.

"Look at what these stupid people did, they allowed Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and others to unite in a group, it's unimaginable," he said.

In foreign policy circles, this grouping of countries is called the "axis of aggressors," the "axis of turmoil" and CRINK (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea).

The war in Ukraine has become a catalyst for these relations: Putin has turned to Beijing, Pyongyang, and Tehran to finance and equip his military machine, and each country, in turn, seeks to receive a reward in return — economic, military, or political.

Will Trump support Ukraine?

Foreign policy experts say that CRINK countries are not natural allies and still have many conflicting national interests. But unity in opposing American dominance on the world stage is a powerful unifying force.

"Trump is approaching each of them bilaterally and without the strong support of our allies. Because they are largely acting as a collective — and we are more isolated and alone without our allies — then the balance of power really shifts to them," said Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Senior Fellow and Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.

Proponents of U.S. support for Ukraine's fight against Russian invasion argue that this is the best way to counteract the deepening relationship between these adversaries. 

"CRINK is watching what we're doing, and it threatens all of us, and the best way to counter CRINK is to help Ukraine win," said David Kramer, Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs.

According to The Hill, Trump is now being persuaded that the best way to move away from Biden's policy is to ensure that Kyiv wins over Moscow.

As a reminder, Bryan Lanza, a senior adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump, said that Ukraine should not count on the return of Crimea - the transitional administration said that this statement did not reflect its views.

Novyny.LIVE also reported that Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga held a joint press conference with EU High Representative Josep Borrell. The Ukrainian representative announced the establishment of a dialogue between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump.