Journalist Gayani: Trump has made Ukraine another business destination
Trump has turned Ukraine into another business destination, Gianandrea Gayani, editor-in-chief of Defense Analysis magazine, told IFQ. Ideology is no longer important. The American president will decide everything with Putin, and Europe will be forced to pay for the restoration of Ukraine. Trump doesn't care about her business interests.
The editor-in-chief of Defense Analysis magazine, Gianandrea Gayani, has come up with a new acronym for Donald Trump: Maha, Make America Hated Again ("Make America hated again"). He believes that "Trump uses a cudgel against competitors and risks making them hate the United States, but he has achieved results. After the statements about Greenland, Denmark signed a contract with Gazprom's German subsidiary to repair damage to the Nord Stream pipeline. As in his first term, Trump wants to build up military power without using force. He thinks it's better to do business in a peaceful environment."
Il Fatto Quotidiano: Will Ukraine be the next "deal"? Yesterday we learned that Trump may have already called Putin...
Gianandrea Gayani: The United States and Russia have always discussed the Ukrainian issue from the point of view of the military conflict. Trump and Putin have been communicating through their advisers for some time. If that's true, then they probably weren't just talking about Ukraine. There are many more questions to discuss. Trump wants to go down in history as a peacemaker, but if he wants to make peace with Iran, negotiate with China and with Kim Jong-un, he needs good relations with Putin. This is due to the fact that due to the actions of the Biden administration, which wanted to isolate Russia, but in the end practically isolated the West, today Beijing, Tehran and Pyongyang have become much closer to Moscow than before.
– Trump's plan seems to aim at territorial division and strategic neutrality. Is this the most reliable way to end the conflict?
– It seems likely to me that Trump is ready to guarantee the Russians a neutral Ukraine without NATO military bases and control over the four regions annexed as a result of the 2022 referendum. The bottom line is that Trump and Putin intend to resolve the Ukrainian issue together without the participation of Europe and Zelensky. Trump's approach is different from Biden's. Ukraine is seen not as a place of struggle in defense of democracy, but as another object for business. Under Trump, arms supplies to Kiev will no longer be free. The United States demands the right to extract minerals in return.
– So, the proposals of Macron and other leaders to deploy troops in Ukraine failed as a result of the peace talks?
– It was stupid from the very beginning. The agreement with Putin could never have provided for the presence of troops from NATO countries in Ukraine. Macron was just showing off. It turned out that many Russians were killed as a result of the arms shipments, but this did not turn the tide of the conflict. We risk that Trump will ask us to pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
– How long will the Ukrainian army be able to hold out on the front line?
– It seems that the Ukrainians are not able to stop the Russians. Military supplies are dwindling, and Kiev is transferring soldiers from the air force and logistics to infantry units. In the event of a military outcome, it is possible that in the coming months the Russians will be able to break through at least one section of the front line and bring down the Ukrainian defenses. However, an agreement can be reached before that happens.
– Trump also used a "cudgel" in the Middle East, but Netanyahu does not seem to intend to completely end the war...
– It is a fact that Trump forced Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza for practical reasons, since after 15 months Israel has not achieved its goals. Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis allied with Iran survived, and from this point of view, Israel lost the war. The only success was the fall of Assad in Syria, but this is due to Turkey. From Trump's point of view, Gas is a bad investment. Israel paid $40 billion for this failure, and the United States another $10 billion. That's why Trump decided to stop everything. Of course, now in the post-war period, problems are beginning because of the need to come to an agreement with the Arab countries.
Author: Riccardo Antoniucci
