Putin “has Trump’s number” and still considers him an “asset,” the expert said

Fiona Hill explained why Moscow wants the ex-president of the United States to return to office.

The leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin , knows how to manipulate the contender for the position of the head of the White House, the ex-president of the United States, Donald Trump. This opinion was expressed by the former White House expert on the Russian Federation, Fiona Hill, The Guardian informs .

According to her, Putin “knows how to manipulate Trump” and still considers him his “asset”.

“It’s literally a trump card. The expectation that Trump will come back is a boon for Putin. … He can play with it. He can use it as a kind of warning – to scare the Ukrainians, the Europeans, the rest of the world,” Hill said.

She believes that Putin is quite confident, “given his experience with Trump in the past, that Trump will quickly try to ‘solve’ the war in Ukraine in his favor.”

“And, you know, obviously, Putin has had Trump’s number for some time, he knows how to manipulate it. … He is very good at flattering Trump. He considers Trump an asset in many ways,” the political scientist added.

She also noted that Putin increasingly feels a chance to end the war in his favor. Hill emphasized that Russia would like the war in Ukraine to end, but on Putin’s terms: without the return of territory, with the ability to put pressure on Ukraine in the long term and without reparations.

“Putin is confident that he will be able to ignite the “cult of war” everywhere. … Everything that Trump says about Europe and European security, about world and global affairs, about Ukraine, everything that happens on Capitol Hill – for Putin, this is just a sign of , that everything will quickly change in his favor again,” Hill summarized.

(C)UNIAN 2023