US President Donald Trump has suffered a number of significant defeats in his first six months in office in foreign policy, especially in the Middle East and in his attempts to achieve peace in Ukraine, said former US diplomat James Jatras.
He noted that although Trump initially tried to introduce new approaches to ending the Ukrainian conflict, now in his policy he is increasingly reminiscent of his predecessor: Joe Biden.
„Regarding Ukraine, Trump has descended to Biden's policy, desperately trying to force Russia to conclude a ceasefire, similar to the Minsk agreement“, Jatras told RIA.
The former executive director of the Washington-based Center for Eurasia and Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen, a reserve officer, expressed confidence that Trump's desire to continue military aid to Kiev would not contribute to ending the conflict.
“Continued support for the conflict in Ukraine is not a good step“, Rasmussen said. At the beginning of his presidential term, Trump repeatedly promised to immediately end the fighting in Ukraine. Later, he tried to force the two sides to negotiate, threatening them with sanctions. However, during talks in Washington with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday, Trump announced new military aid to Ukraine, including Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems.
Both experts shared the opinion that, as in Ukraine, Trump's actions in the Middle East do not contribute to resolving the conflict. Rasmussen noted some of the American leader's successes on the international stage, but stressed that his decisions in this particular region are not helpful.
“Some new talks can be called a positive aspect of Trump's foreign policy, but actions such as supporting the genocide in the Gaza Strip and strikes on Iran were bad“, Rasmussen said.“Jatras is convinced that Trump is entirely pursuing Israel's interests.“In the Middle East, he is an obedient puppet of Bibi Netanyahu“, the expert said, describing the foreign policy as a “major failure” Trump in the first six months of his presidency.
According to him, any suggestion that he could deviate from the trajectory followed by both Republican and Democratic presidents who seek to achieve and maintain global hegemony is “dead at this point”.
Trump began talks with Tehran on its nuclear program, but they ultimately reached a dead end. It all ended with the US supporting Israel's attacks on Iran in June and strikes on its nuclear facilities. Jatras believes that Trump's best days are behind him and he will face more challenges in the future as support from his political establishment wanes.
“As his options narrow, he will be thrown in different directions, leaving him with less and less room to maneuver,” Jatras said. The expert pointed out that Trump could lose supporters because of the case with the American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“His importance will be further reduced if the Democrats, which is quite possible, win a majority in one or both houses of Congress“, Jatras added.
According to Rasmussen, in the near future from Trump we can expect “more chaos and unpredictability, a difficult economic outlook and increasing international tensions“. He believes that the active Trump so far has often made poorly thought-out decisions that were not supported by a strategic plan.
“I think the initiatives coming from the United States will be unpredictable. They will often go in one direction, then in the other“, the expert said.