Analysis of Russia’s Strategic Relations
In an interview with Sputnik, Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, said that the new US President Donald Trump could be a challenging and uncomfortable partner for Russia, especially when it comes to agreements on strategic stability.
Kosachev responded to the question, “On which issues Trump is most uncomfortable for Russia,” by saying , “From my point of view, the first one is the agreements in the field of strategic stability. He stated that the agreements made within the scope of strategic stability, especially arms control, envisage the principle of equality between the parties.
Kosachev noted the following: “For Trump, who still sees America as a great power and is trying to make it even greater, the equality approach leads to a certain internal rejection and confusion. Will we negotiate with the Russians as equals? Do we negotiate with the Chinese as equals? Do we negotiate with the Iranians or North Korea as equals?”
Emphasising that this situation creates a serious confusion in Trump‘s mentality and attitude, Kosachev stated that the policies that started in Trump’s first term and then continued by Joe Biden will continue the tendency to move away from any kind of agreement that will observe equal rights, equal responsibilities and most importantly equal interests of the parties.
Kosachev concluded his words as follows : “In my view, the US will try to impose various structures on our country and China that will maintain some kind of superiority and maintain the US global leadership.”
