Ukraine biggest loser in wake of Trump’s election victory

LONDON, UK | TASS | Ukraine will lose more than other international players from the coming to power of Republican Donald Trump, US political scientist Francis Fukuyama said in an opinion piece for the Financial Times (FT).

“Ukraine is by far the biggest loser; its military struggle against Russia was flagging even before the election, and Trump can force it to settle on Russia’s terms by withholding weapons, as the Republican House [of the US Congress] did for six months last winter,” Fukuyama surmised. He recounted how Trump had threatened to pull out of NATO, “but even if he doesn’t, he can gravely weaken the alliance” by refusing to follow through on the North Atlantic Alliance’s Article 5 on mutual defense.

“There are no European champions that can take the place of America as the alliance’s leader, so its future ability to stand up to Russia and China is in grave doubt,” Fukuyama noted. According to him, Trump, on the contrary, may inspire certain political parties in Europe, including the Alternative for Germany and France’s National Rally, to follow his suit as regards NATO.

“There are no European champions that can take the place of America as NATO’s leader, so its future ability to stand up to Russia and China is in grave doubt. <…> East Asian allies and friends of the US are in no better position. While Trump has talked tough on China, he also greatly admires [Chinese leader] Xi Jinping for the latter’s strongman characteristics, and might be,” the political scientist added. The Republican “seems congenitally averse to the use of military power and is easily,” and one exception may be the Middle East where Trump will likely push for continued military confrontation, he argued. Fukuyama said he has strong reasons to believe that during his second term, Trump will be “much more effective” in accomplishing his agenda than during his first term.

Voting in the US presidential election ended on Wednesday morning, Moscow time. Officially, the election results have not been announced yet, but, according to the US media, Republican Trump scored about 300 electoral votes, surpassing the necessary minimum of 270. He himself has already declared himself the 47th president of the United States. His rival, Democrat Kamala Harris, has formally conceded the election to Trump and congratulated him on his victory, as have foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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SOURCE: TASS