Importance Score: 75 / 100 🔴
Former national security adviser John Bolton has asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is allegedly “manipulating” former US President Donald Trump, believing his American counterpart to be an “easy mark.” Bolton, who served in the White House from April 2018 to September 2019, told Politico that while Trump “thinks he and Putin are friends,” Putin does not reciprocate this view.
Bolton, who previously described Trump as “unfit” for the presidency in his memoir, suggested that the former US leader consistently misinterprets his foreign policy interactions. According to Bolton, “Trump views international relations through the prism of his personal relations with foreign leaders. So he thinks that if he has good relations with Putin, then the US has good relations with Russia.” Bolton emphasized this misconception, stating, “That’s not true, but that’s what he thinks. He thinks he and Putin are friends.”
Bolton: Putin Sees Trump as “Easy Mark”
Bolton elaborated, stating, “Putin doesn’t consider them friends. He views Trump as an easy target and believes he is easily manipulated.” Bolton illustrated this point by citing instances where Putin seemingly flattered Trump, such as when Putin remarked, “Trump was right that if he had been president, there wouldn’t have been a war in Ukraine.” Bolton added, “Well, maybe so, maybe not. But Trump loved to hear that.” Following such remarks, Bolton pointed to events like the release of hostage Mark Foley and another American hostage by Belarus, suggesting these actions are examples of “manipulation at work.”
Russia Dismisses Current Ukraine Ceasefire Terms
In separate developments, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has dismissed the prospect of the Kremlin accepting the current terms for a Ukraine ceasefire. Ryabkov stated, “We take the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously, but we can’t accept it all in its current form.” Speaking to International Affairs magazine, Ryabkov explained, “As far as we can see, there is no place in them today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict. It is completely absent, and that must be overcome.” Russia reiterates that the goal of its “special military operation” is to “demilitarise and denazify” Ukraine. Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being of Jewish heritage, Russia continues to assert, without providing substantiating evidence, that Ukraine is governed by a Nazi regime.