- Analysts: Russia looks to exploit White House “turbulence”
The Kremlin, increasingly convinced that President Trump will not fundamentally change relations with Russia, is instead seeking to bolster its global influence by exploiting what it considers weakness in Washington, according to political advisers, diplomats, journalists and other analysts. – New York Times
Russia is moving aggressively on another traditional patron of U.S. arms exports: the United Arab Emirates. Rather than cheap small arms and land-based platforms, Russian companies appear to have identified a market opportunity: relatively cost-effective alternatives to Western fifth-generation fighters. – Defense News
Ariel Cohen writes: As Gen. H.R. McMaster takes over President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, conducting a bottom-up review and developing a Russia policy at the NSC, Pentagon, and State Department should be a top priority for the administration. – Atlantic Council
Stephen Blank writes: No real agreement with Moscow is possible as long as it arrogates to itself the right to attack and seize its neighbors’ territory, behave autocratically in world affairs, and demand special treatment and unbridled sovereignty at home. To quote the statesman A. M. Gorchakov, for Russia, “the difficulty lies in knowing where to stop.” But history has already shown that Putin’s autocracy, like its predecessors, can neither stop nor wants to. Therefore we must jointly forge new ways to conduct the old missions of deterrence and reassurance. The alternative is unacceptable. – Atlantic Council
Ariel Cohen writes: As Gen. H.R. McMaster takes over President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, conducting a bottom-up review and developing a Russia policy at the NSC, Pentagon, and State Department should be a top priority for the administration. – Atlantic Council
Stephen Blank writes: No real agreement with Moscow is possible as long as it arrogates to itself the right to attack and seize its neighbors’ territory, behave autocratically in world affairs, and demand special treatment and unbridled sovereignty at home. To quote the statesman A. M. Gorchakov, for Russia, “the difficulty lies in knowing where to stop.” But history has already shown that Putin’s autocracy, like its predecessors, can neither stop nor wants to. Therefore we must jointly forge new ways to conduct the old missions of deterrence and reassurance. The alternative is unacceptable. – Atlantic Council
The Kremlin’s growing embrace of Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a rival of the United Nations-backed coalition government in Tripoli, signals Moscow’s desire to extend its influence in the Middle East and North Africa after intervening in Syria’s civil war. Now the Russian government is courting the Trump administration to get its support for the controversial general, according to people familiar with the Kremlin’s thinking. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Christopher Kozak writes: There is nothing unnatural, artificial, or inherently temporary about the coalition between Russia and Iran. Their relationship rests on a deep foundation of common strategic objectives and interests. The two countries are building a military coalition that can operate across the region – including a potential anti-access, area-denial zone stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. Meaningful divisions between Moscow and Tehran will only materialize under extreme conditions when either or both are on the verge of victory or collapse, forcing the other to make hard choices about its long-term regional interests. – American Enterprise Institute/Institute for the Study of War
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