GENEVA, November 9. /TASS/. US President-elect Donald Trump is capable of putting pressure on Kiev to stimulate the talks with Moscow, though he may be faced with opposition, including from the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and some NATO member states, Vice-President of the Geneva International Peace Research Institute (GIPRI) Gilles-Emmanuel Jacquet told TASS.
"Donald Trump’s election win may change the US policy regarding the Ukrainian conflict," he said, adding that Trump made numerous statements in the run-up to the elections. Those statements "suggest that he may put pressure on the government in Kiev to push it to talks with Russia," the expert said.
"Trump has repeatedly stated that he can bring this conflict to a close in 24 hours, but this is an exaggeration, though the US has very strong instruments of political, economic and financial pressure that it may use," Jacquet said. However, it should be noted that it will be difficult for Trump to make steps that may be regarded by the American public opinion as "too big concessions to Russia," he noted. Moreover, he "may be faced with strong opposition on the part of the Congress, senior officials of the Department of the State, the Pentagon and the CIA, the military-industrial complex and some NATO member states," the expert said, adding that "during his first presidential term Trump imposed many sanctions against Russia after the voting in the Congress."
"Trump will not settle the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 24 hours, though his statements in the run-up to the elections point to the fact that he is against the American hegemony and interventionism and, consequently, he could use a more peaceful and pragmatic approach leading to peace talks," he stated.
"It is difficult to confidently speak about Donald Trump’s future foreign policy as he is an unpredictable personality, though it is highly likely that he will try to initiate the Russian-Ukrainian talks," Jacquet concluded, adding that "judging by his previous statements, it is safe to predict that he could be inclined to reduce the US’ military aid to Ukraine, though it is unclear whether other NATO members will follow the same policy.".