Trump and Putin

[egalitt]

I was surprised to find out that many people here think Trump to be  the Kremlin's favorite and to be  "soft"  on Putin.
In his foreign-policy speech at the end of April Trump stated:
"I believe an easing of tensions, and improved relations with Russia from a position of strength only is possible, absolutely possible.... If we can’t make a deal under my administration,... then we will quickly walk from the table. " http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/why-is-donald-trump-a-patsy-for-vladimir-putin.html

Where is the softness? We have heard about the policy from a position of strength since the beginning of the cold war. Later Trump promised to shoot down Russian jets approaching U.S. military assets http://europe.newsweek.com/trump-says-us-should-shoot-russian-planes-if-putin-calls-fail-454902?rm=eu

Yes,  Trump expressed his wish to improve relations with Putin, and Putin in response characterized him (in December) as a gifted and colorful person,  but those were mere words. In reality the opposite will be true. 

[egalitt]

You are referring to the interpretation given by a repoter. The interpretation is purely arbitrary and expresses his own personal opinion. But it is Trump's words that should be counted. And his words show that his attitude towards Russia is the same as that one of the previous American Presidents beginning with H. Truman . The key words here are "position of strength" and "shoot down Russian planes" that are completely ignored by the reporter, the author of the article.  
I always prefer to follow the Cinese proverb:
A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion.
But you may be the author of the article, then I disagree with you.

[egalitt]

Confounded expectations. Cruz is a beaten trump.

[egalitt]

"Vlad"  is a diminutive for "Vladislav". The most widely used diminutive for "Vladimir" (Putin's first name) is  "Vova" or "Vovan" in youth  slang. Donnie and Vovan will never make friends: it impossible for Russian and US Presidents. 

[egalitt]

I'm aware of Trump's statements about Ukraine and NATO, they were well advertised in Russian media. But I'm also aware of his latest assertion :
I'm not the president, everything is a suggestion. No matter what you say, it is a suggestion

I wrote earlier on this forum that Trump will keep none of his promises. As soon as he is elected President he will discard all his vows. Immigration will increase with no wall built, support for NATO and Ukraine will become much more substantial, hostile attitude to Russia will retain.
Perhaps voters in the USA are used to trusting promises  made by candidates during election campaign. I believe that the real picture is sure to be the opposite one.

[egalitt]

And I am drawing your attention to the fact that friendliness of Trump's position towards Russia is exaggerated by American media. "A position of strength" phrase represents the bottom line in positions of all American Presidents beginning with Truman. Additionally Trump vowed to shoot down Russian jets. Where is the friendliness?

[egalitt]

[quote author=egalitt link=topic=236758.msg5070785#msg5070785 date=1463408691
 
 But I don't understand why we should disbelieve him in those cases, but believe him in the other cases you're talking about.

And haven't you asked yourself  a question why Bush and Obama have been on bad terms with Putin?
The answer is simple: they had to hold back Russia. And Trump will have to do the same because it is in economic and political interests of the USA.
At the end of April Putin said:
My impression is that the West loves Russia when it is weak and needs humanitarian relief http://ria.ru/world/20150420/1059696563.html

Quite right. If Russia were as weak as 20 years ago the American President  could afford friendly relationship with it.  But now Russia is not  weak. Moreover it presents a serious threat to American political and ideological hegemony. And Trump will be compelled to follow the same line as Obama. He will not be allowed any friendly actions towards Russia.  

[egalitt]

The other day Trump gave a lengthy interview to Reuters stating that:
..  the fact that Putin's said good things about me doesn't mean that, you know, it's going to help him in a negotiation. It won't help him at all. And I'll know pretty soon in whether or not I’ll have a good relationship with Russia. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-excerpts-idUSKCN0Y82OJ
He also added that he disliked Russian position on Ukraine.
The nearer is the general election the more hawkish Trump is. Finally he will turn out to be more hostile than Obama. No wonder taking into account that he is endorsed by such people as MacCain who is well known as Putin's antagonist.