[Tee tiong huat]

Russia is determined to finish off the Nato threat once & for all

They are seeking to change the security architecture so that the West cannot pull off the same trick again...meaning by the time the war ends, you wont see much of Ukraine left

And this is why Britain is planning to introduce a military draft to prepare Brits to go to the frontlines

John Bolton on how Putin plays Trump and why separating Russia from China is 'almost impossible'...

1) U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Danang, Vietnam, on Nov. 11, 2017.

Interview, Trump & Russia, Russia, US, Ukraine, War, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Peace Talks, China, Trump & Ukraine
Instead of approaching the war in Ukraine from a geopolitical or moral perspective, U.S. President Donald Trump is framing his policy on Russia through the lens of his personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton.

“Trump thinks Putin is his friend. He trusts Putin,” Bolton told the Kyiv Independent. But for “Putin thinks Trump is an easy mark. puyin a former KGB agent, Putin knows exactly how to manipulate him, and I think that's what he's been doing since the inauguration, if not before,” he explained.

Bolton served as the national security advisor to Trump from 2018-2019 during his first administration. Bolton's 2020 memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” offers a candid account of the tumultuous turn his working relationship with Trump took, highlighting his concerns about Trump's ability to effectively lead, including his impulsive decision-making on complex policy issues and lack of understanding of the importance of a strong U.S. foreign policy.

In an interview with the Kyiv Independent, Bolton provided his insight on why Trump appears so eager to appease the Kremlin, why any U.S. attempt to align with Russia to deter China would be a "fantasy," and the opportunities the U.S. has missed for more than a decade to deter Russian aggression not only in Ukraine but beyond.

This interview was conducted several hours before Putin signaled he was ready for a ceasefire on the condition that Ukraine doesn’t receive more military aid or build its military. It has been edited for length and clarity.

John Bolton, former national security advisor, speaks during a senate briefing hosted by the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC), to discuss U.S. policy on Iran in Russell Building on March 16, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Then-U.S.National Security Advisor John Bolton listens as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on July 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Kyiv Independent: Trump has repeatedly claimed that negotiating with Russia is easier than with Ukraine. Despite Russia’s nightly attacks on Ukraine, he continues to insist that Putin wants peace. Why do you think Trump is so eager to cater to the Kremlin's interests, especially when they have such maximalist demands?

John Bolton: Trump has said many times publicly that he believes if he has good relations with a foreign head of state, then the U.S. has good relations with that country. And the opposite is also true. If he has bad relations with a foreign head of state, U.S. relations with that country are bad. Trump thinks Putin is his friend. He trusts Putin. He has said in just the past few weeks, “Putin says he wants peace, and I trust him. I think if he didn't want peace, he would tell me.”  So that gives you a pretty good idea of how he sees Putin.

Now, I don't think Putin thinks he's Trump's friend at all. I think Putin thinks Trump is an easy mark. As a former KGB agent, Putin knows exactly how to manipulate him, and I think that's what he's been doing since the inauguration, if not before.
The notion that Russia is easy to deal with dates back to 2018, when Trump left Washington for the NATO summit — where he nearly withdrew from the alliance — before heading to Helsinki for a bilateral meeting with Putin. As he was leaving the White House to get on helicopter Marine One, he said to the assembled press, 

“You know, I've got this NATO meeting, then I'm going to meet Prime Minister Theresa May in London, then I'm going to meet Putin in Helsinki. You know, the meeting with Putin could be the easiest of them all. Who would think it?”