On 7 November, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin addressed the 21st Annual General Session of the Valday International Discussion Club. “A brand new world order is emerging before our eyes,” Putin said, underlining that multipolarity is now an irreversible reality. “Peoples are becoming more clearly aware of their interests, core values, uniqueness and identity. They are becoming more and more insistent on achieving the goal of development and justice.”
Noting that the world is approaching a dangerous line and that the West is trying to defeat Russia, which has a nuclear arsenal, Putin described these efforts as “the ugly adventurism of the West”. He also stressed that what US Presidential candidate Donald Trump, who won the elections, said about Ukraine deserves attention and expressed his readiness for dialogue with Trump.
Evaluations with Prof. Dr Hasan Ünal
We talked to Prof. Dr. Hasan Ünal about Putin’s messages at the Valday Forum, Trump’s cabinet nominees, how the US foreign policy may affect the conflict areas in the new period and how Turkish-American relations may be shaped in Trump’s second term.
‘Trump will pull the strings’
Prof. Dr. Hasan Ünal stated that the cabinet names to be appointed by Trump will not have one hundred percent autonomy to produce policy. Stating that Trump intends to take steps to end wars, Ünal said, “Putin is open to any dialogue that does not ignore his victory in the field.” Emphasising that Trump is a leader who can surprise everyone, Ünal said, “On Ukraine, he said that he would not allow the war to break out if he were in charge. After he was elected, he said he could end the war with a few meetings. The expectation in the US is quite high in this regard,” he said.
“Trump is a powerful figure and I don’t think he will allow his appointees to determine policy with full autonomy. The strings will be in Trump’s hands,” he said at the Valday Forum, in discussions with Russian experts on Trump’s likely withdrawal from Syria and Iraq.
‘The American people are tired of the word war’
Underlining that Donald Trump must first fulfil his promises to his own people, Ünal said, “Trump may focus on the Abraham Accords formula in the Middle East.” Ünal said, “Trump’s support for Israel is certain. But he does not want to start or continue a war,” he said, conveying the discomfort of the American people against the word war.
Multipolarity and the Role of the United States
Stating that multipolarity was one of the most prominent issues at Valday, Prof. Dr. Hasan Ünal stated that the US cannot prevent this process. “The USA’s desire for a unipolar world and its stance on multipolarity will accelerate the stabilisation of its own power if it takes extreme steps,” he said. He stated that organisations such as BRICS may become platforms where big countries will come together in the future.
‘Biden era was the worst period of Turkish-American relations’
Commenting on how Turkish-American relations may be shaped in the Donald Trump era, Prof. Ünal stated that Turkey should make careful calculations. “The Biden era was the worst period of Turkish-American relations. Biden was not anti-Turkish, he was almost an enemy of Turks,” Ünal said, emphasising that Trump’s second term could not be as bad as the Biden era.
Ünal said that Turkey should put itself forward as a partner that can be co-operated with both the US, the EU and China, and added, “Turkey needs to do its homework in this context.” He added that Turkey should determine a clear policy towards its domestic issues.
