Photo: ERA
Retired US General Ben Hodges has expressed the opinion that US President-elect Donald Trump will demonstrate determination in his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel, which was published on Friday, 17 January, Hodges expressed optimism about Trump’s future policy, DW reports.
“I feel somewhat optimistic and hope that President Trump will not want to look defeated. He doesn’t want to be the one who lost Ukraine,” said the former commander of US forces in Europe.
Hodges also commented on Trump’s approach to negotiating a settlement to the war in Ukraine, noting that not all of Trump’s statements during the campaign should be taken literally. As a reminder, Trump claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours.
“His approach to resolving the situation by putting firm pressure on Russia and Ukraine to negotiate and reach peace quickly was effective,” he said. However, since the election, Trump has been more cautious, hoping to find a solution to end the war within the next six months.
Commenting on military operations in eastern Europe, Hodges praised the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ (UAF) offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, calling it “a brilliant move by the Ukrainian General Staff”. According to him, the operation “changed the conventional wisdom that Russia is invincible and Ukraine has no chance of winning”.
