Trump’s Russia reset ideas alarming allies
PHILADELPHIA: Donald Trump’s flurry of offhand remarks and abrupt zingers on Russia — praising Vladimir Putin, dismissing NATO — have jolted the world, not to mention the US presidential campaign.
With Russia’s behavior rattling nerves in the US and elsewhere, Trump is accused of cozying up to a “dictator.” Of threatening the very underpinnings of America’s relationship with Europe. And of naiveté.
Some of the GOP presidential nominee’s goals are consistent with long-held US views, many experts say. The idea of fostering US-Russian cooperation isn’t outlandish. After all, Hillary Clinton tried to “reset” relations with Russia when she was secretary of state. Also, past US administrations of both parties have quietly complained that other NATO members should pay their share to the alliance.
It’s what Trump is willing to do to achieve those goals and the way he expresses his views that have shocked many foreign policy experts.
The notion of refusing to defend NATO allies who don’t pay their bills, for example, or of buddying up to Putin despite his aggressive stances is jarring to Democrats and Republicans alike. And it’s on the minds of foreign leaders.
“We’re going to talk about NATO and Russia,” Secretary of State John Kerry said as he met Saturday with French Foreign Minister JeanMarc Ayrault in Paris.
Kerry wouldn’t address Trump’s comments specifically, but said he would discuss anything Ayrault wanted to talk about “that has to do with our relationship.”
On Wednesday, Trump offered this vision for rosier US-Russian relations: “I would treat Vladimir Putin firmly but there’s nothing that I can think of that I’d rather do than have Russia friendly, as opposed to the way they are right now, so that we can go and knock out ISIS (Daesh) together along with other people and with other countries,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually got along with people?“
Trump praised the Russian president for having “better leadership qualities” than President Barack Obama.
Trump said he would consider lifting sanctions against Moscow and recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
As for NATO, Trump said the basic idea of the alliance was OK but that “it’s got to be modernized. And countries that we’re protecting have to pay what they’re supposed to be paying.”