Trump's new Cabinet appointments: bakers of Ukraine exhaled in relief, but remained cautious – Politico

After newly elected US President Donald Trump appointed Florida Congressman Michael Waltz as his National Security Advisor and plans to select Florida Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Ukraine supporters cautiously sighed with some relief.

Source: Politico

Details: Politico noted that both lawmakers adhere to Trump's foreign policy doctrine of "America First", but remain "ardent hawks" when it comes to the US approach to adversaries such as China, Iran and Russia. Moreover, they are far from the isolationist wing of the Republican Party, which seeks to abandon Ukraine or NATO.

Rubio and Waltz questioned their votes against previous US assistance packages to Ukraine not due to a lack of support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, but because they believed the US was not spending enough on protecting the southern US border.

Earlier, Waltz even proposed lifting US restrictions on how Ukraine can use its long-range weapons to strike Russia. However, the Biden administration did not take this step, despite its full support for Ukraine.

Quote from Daniel Vajdich, a Republican foreign policy expert and president of Yorktown Solutions, which advises Ukrainian state entities and engages with officials in Kyiv: "Kyiv is quite calm and quite comfortable with the national security officials announced so far. Those pushing a narrative of anxiety in Kyiv are doing this for their own purposes and are doing Ukraine a disservice."

Details: The opinion was supported by three former officials from the Trump administration who favour providing assistance to Ukraine but spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity.

"For people who are concerned that Trump is going to sell Ukraine down the river, I think his main priority is going to try and find some kind of equitable peace," said a former Trump administration official who had been in contact with the campaign and transition team.

Politico also noted that Trump's recent cabinet appointments indicate that they support tougher measures on the export of energy resources from Russia, which fund its military machine.

Waltz criticised the Biden administration for not doing enough to close loopholes in Russian oil and gas exports in recent interviews.

Current and former high-ranking European officials say that Trump, the dealmaker targeting the Russo-Ukrainian war, is not the best news for Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

However, some senior European officials are concerned. While Putin may be nervous about Trump's unpredictability, Ukraine and other NATO allies are also anxious. They fear that any peace deal Trump may conclude for Ukraine will not end the war, but only delay it to give Russia time to regroup for further fighting.

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