Henri Vanhanen wrote that in the United States, Russia was understood more than its own allies, in his opinion. He assessed that Hillary Clinton's words from ten years ago had gained new weight. Vanhanen reminded of the 2018 Helsinki summit, where Trump, in his view, appeared to trust Vladimir Putin's assurances more than the U.S. intelligence community's assessments of Russia's interference in the presidential elections. Vanhanen wrote that Russia had actively sought to promote Trump's victory in the same elections. According to Vanhanen, U.S. Russia policy changed after Trump's return: Russia was once again brought to the center of great power diplomacy, and Washington sought normalization of relations as well as economic arrangements. He also pointed out that the United States voted in 2025 at the UN against a resolution concerning Ukraine alongside Russia and that Putin was welcomed with a red carpet at the Alaska summit while Russia's invasion war continued. Vanhanen assessed that Russia had benefited from political decisions made during Trump's presidency and wrote that the United States was ready to pressure Ukraine. He wondered why Trump spoke warmly of Putin, who in Washington defined the direction of Russia policy, and why Trump occasionally showed more understanding to Putin than to his allies. According to Vanhanen, these decisions could no longer be explained as mere individual blunders or the president's unpredictability. #Trump #Venäjä #Yhdysvallat (translated)
