"The judgment of a man who fails to distinguish between aggressor and victim when describing the Russia-Ukraine war is not worthy of respect. Unfortunately, when that man is the US president, his opinion cannot be ignored. Earlier this year, Donald Trump asserted that Vladimir Putin had all the cards and urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make peace in terms that resembled surrender. This week, Mr Trump declared that Kyiv might achieve total victory, liberating all territory currently under Russian occupation."
"Mr Trump offered to continue supplying American weapons for Nato to do what they want with them. Asked about Russian incursions into airspace over alliance members, the president suggested the offending jets could be shot down. This was later qualified as a prescription to be followed only if they're attacking. Given Mr Trump's capacity for hyperbole, selfcontradiction and spouting nonsense, it is hard to evaluate the significance of his sudden enthusiasm for Ukrainian liberation and gung-ho attitude to Moscow's military provocations."
"His attitude to Mr Zelenskyy has evolved quite gradually, and with assiduous encouragement from European leaders, from contempt to courtesy and now something like respect. With Mr Putin he has veered from credulous admiration to wary patience to tetchy frustration and back again. He has set deadlines for the Kremlin to stop the killing or face more robust sanctions, and failed to follow through. Asked this week whether he still trusted the Russian president, Mr Trump said he would know in a month's time."
The US president has expressed contradictory positions on the Russia-Ukraine war, at times urging peace terms resembling surrender and at other times endorsing total Ukrainian victory. He offered continued American weapons supply for NATO and suggested Russian jets could be shot down if attacking, then later qualified that position. His rhetoric shows hyperbole, self-contradiction and unpredictability. His attitude toward Zelenskyy shifted from contempt to something like respect, while his stance toward Putin has oscillated between admiration, patience and frustration. Repeated failure to follow through on threats and promises creates uncertainty about White House motives and reliability.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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