This week, US President Donald Trump reiterated his intention to make progress in reducing the United States’ military presence in Germany, without any consultation with Berlin. And even when members of the U.S. Congress and U.S. allies abroad voiced concern over the reduction, the Trump administration’s decision brought joy to the Kremlin and the Russian media.
In June, 22 Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee urged Trump not to go ahead with the measure, stating in a letter: “We believe such steps would significantly harm US national security and strengthen the position. of Russia to our detriment … In Europe, the threats posed by Russia have not diminished, and we believe that signs of a weakened commitment by the United States to NATO will encourage further Russian aggression and opportunism. “
The German authorities have called the measure politically motivated. While Trump claimed that the reduction was based on Germany’s failure to meet NATO’s goal of spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense, Belgium and Italy, the two countries that will receive part of the American troops from Germany, spend an even smaller percentage on defense. The measure will cost billions of dollars to American taxpayers and undermine NATO alliances.
Meanwhile, when the intention to reduce the US contingent in Germany was first announced, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Kremlin “would appreciate any move by Washington to reduce its military presence in Europe.” , blatantly telling the United States to take home not only its troops, but also its tactical nuclear weapons.
The Russian state media controlled by the Kremlin also saw a valuable propaganda opportunity. Sergey Brilyov, presenter of the newscast Saturday Vesti on the Russian state media channel Rossiya-1He reflected on whether the Trump administration’s controversial move could be seen as proof that Russia no longer poses a military threat to Europe.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov used the same logic today, when he stated that Russia poses no threat to European countries and that “the fewer American soldiers are on the European continent, the calmer it will be in Europe.” Russian envoy to Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov speculated that the withdrawal of the US contingent from Germany will not affect the security of the country and Berlin is likely to even “benefit” from this move.
As expected, Germany does not see it that way. Norbert Roettgen, head of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee, warned on Twitter: “By withdrawing 12,000 soldiers from Germany, the United States managed[s] the exact opposite of what [Defense Secretary] Mark Esper outlined. Rather than strengthen NATO, it will weaken the alliance. The military influence of the United States will not increase, but will decrease relative to Russia and the Near and Middle East. “
“Trump is still ours.“
The troop withdrawal is just the latest good news for Russia in its relations with the Trump administration.
When Russian rewards were unveiled over the heads of American soldiers, followed by revelations that Russia and China had been hacking into the investigation of the western coronavirus, it seemed that the die was cast and sanctions against the Kremlin were almost inevitable. A chorus of experts on Russian state television unanimously warned the public: There will be new sanctions.
But so far, sanctions for hacking the coronavirus vaccine have been imposed only on China. Other Russian pundits and experts accurately predicted that, unlike Democrats, Trump and the Republican Party would highlight not Russia, but China as the United States’ main adversary. Therefore, instead of a severe reprimand, Russian President Vladimir Putin enjoyed a friendly phone conversation with Trump. During his phone call, Trump did not raise the issue of Russian rewards on the US military in Afghanistan, nor warned Putin about Russia’s hacking of the coronavirus vaccine investigation. Similarly, Trump did not question the Russian president about his country’s ongoing interference in the US elections and internal affairs.
“They are our enemies, 100 percent.“
Instead of confronting Putin, Trump lashed out at Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler over the national anti-fascist group Antifa, tweeting in part: “Jerry, blame Russia, Russia, Russia!” The non-funny phrase reaffirmed that Russian misdeeds would continue to be swept under the rug by the Trump administration, a signal that was enthusiastically received in Moscow. “Trump is still ours,” concluded Russia Council of International Affairs expert Alexey Naumov. “Whew,” the presenter of a state-owned news talk show airs theatrically 60 minutesOlga Skabeeva.
“Trump is ours” is a familiar saying in the Russian state media. His goal is twofold: to mock the investigation into the Kremlin’s involvement in the American elections, while simultaneously emphasizing Putin’s seemingly inexplicable control over his American counterpart. It is not humorous, in light of Trump’s actions that constantly benefit Russia’s agenda on the world stage. During the 2018 Trump-Putin press conference in Helsinki, the Russian president openly admitted that he wanted Trump to win the election. Russian experts, pundits and megaphones from the Kremlin repeatedly reiterate that Trump remains the preferred figure in the upcoming presidential race, as a “candidate for chaos” that divides Americans into the country and causes international divisions within alliances. transatlantic.
The weakening of the enemy is certainly a coveted opportunity for Russia, and there is no doubt that the United States is viewed as such by the Kremlin. Speaking of the United States on Russia’s state television show 60 minutes Last week, Alexei Kondratiev, a member of the Federation Council on the Defense and Security Committee of the Russian Federation, emphasized: “They are our enemies, 100 percent.” During the same show, expert Alexey Naumov claimed that the world is witnessing the United States “in its throes” as the greatness of the United States and its global position is in sharp decline. “The United States is dying,” announced presenter Olga Skabeeva.
Margarita Simonyan, director of the state-funded television channel. RT, formerly known as Russia today, was equally forceful in its evaluation. She said Komsomolskaya Pravda—A Russian tabloid newspaper— that the complete disintegration of the United States would be highly beneficial to Russia. Simonyan speculated that internal chaos would compel the United States to focus on its own survival, allowing Russia and other countries to pursue their global goals without hindrance: “In order for us to be left alone, they must be terribly busy with their own. internal problems. “This perception coincides with recent revelations that Russian intelligence services are using English websites to spread disinformation, no doubt just a small snowflake at the tip of Russia’s anti-Western disinformation iceberg In the run-up to the United States presidential election, these efforts can be expected to intensify.
As for the weakening of NATO, Trump is essentially fulfilling Putin’s wishes by ordering the withdrawal of the US military from Germany. The Kremlin will surely exploit flaws in transatlantic relations between Western allies and widen the cracks at every opportunity, aided by the divisive actions of the unlikely Kremlin comrade in the White House.
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