Former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday boasted of his close relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, arguing that the Ukraine crisis would not have happened under his administration.
“If handled properly, there was absolutely no reason for the situation that is currently occurring in Ukraine to have occurred”, the Republican mogul said in a statement.
“I know Vladimir Putin very well, and he would never have done during the Trump administration what he is doing nowNo way!” he stressed.
Russia is facing a strong international backlash after Putin recognized two pro-Russian breakaway enclaves in eastern Ukraine as independent states and the Russian Senate paved the way for him to send troops to protect those regions.
The measurement occurred with more than 100,000 Russian soldiers at various points on the borders of Ukraine and amid warnings of a planned all-out invasion by the Putin government.
Democratic President Joe Biden, who imposed economic punishments on the two enclaves on Monday, expanded those measures, announcing Tuesday sanctions that will cut off Russia from Western funding and hit “Russian elites” as well as financial institutions.
But Trump, who had been silent on the escalation of the Russian threat to the US ally, previously criticized the Biden administration’s “weak” response that he said did not match Russia’s actions.
“Now it has started, oil prices are getting higher and higher, and Putin is not only getting what he always wanted, but because of rising oil and gas, he is getting richer and richer,” he added.
Former White House Russia adviser Fiona Hill told CNN on Sunday that Trump’s foreign policy had emboldened Putin for these actions. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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