According to The Wall Street Journal, in October, the eldest son of Donald Trump held a meeting with a group of supporters of the US-Russian cooperation on Syria in Paris. The meeting was attended by the politicians and diplomats, who are in favor of cooperation with Moscow. The Wall Street Journal reports, that the meeting ‘raises new questions about the contacts between the elected president, his family members and the foreign powers, and once again ‘underlines the US President-elect’s voiced willingness to cooperate with the Kremlin.’
Donald Trump Jr
However, as the President of the Strategic Research Center ‘Russia - Islamic World’, Shamil Sultanov says, it is dangerous to simplify the highly complex conflicts: "They can not be reduced to the subject of the relations between the US and Russia, Trump and Putin, Turkey and the Kurds. There is no Syrian conflict. There is a new model of the Middle East conflict, where the Syrian crisis has become a key crisis. The medium-term prospects for Saudi Arabia depend on the dynamics of the situation in Syria. Turkish internal problems depend on the situation in Syria. The long-term prospects of the relations between Iraq and Iran depend on situation in Syria. The situation in Egypt, Israel and in Jordan, as almost in all countries of the Middle East, depends on the situation in Syria.’’
Sultanov predicts that Aleppo will not be released over the next three months: "Firstly in the next two months, Russia will limit the actions of its Aerospace forces not to spoil thedynamics of the relationship with Mr. Trump. Secondly the east of Aleppo is a citadel, where the underground communications system was built. Street battles will be very bloody. One way or another, everybody will wait for the inauguration of Trump on January 20th, although there should be no illusions about him. Trump is an amateur, he knows nothing about foreign policy, he has already started to refuse all his populist promises. In addition, there is an American system, which implements its long-term strategy.’’
Donalnd Trump
Shamil Sultanov does not believe that the US Middle East strategy can change: ‘’Once, a very good, intelligent US president John F. Kennedy wrote:» The US bureaucracy has allowed me to do the only thing by myself- to redesign a lawn in front of the White House.’’ The American system does not change depending on who becomes a president.’’
