Foreign-policy adviser to US president-elect Donald Trump, Carter Page, said that the new US leadership would be able to take advantage of new possibilities to overcome misinformation in decision-making on Ukraine crisis, including the recognition of Crimea.
"The level of misinformation which has guided related decisions by outside actors and their impact on this country is tragic. I am confident that there will be new possibilities to resolve these misperceptions," Page said, answering a question on the role and place that will be given to Ukraine by the new US administration.
In addition, Page said that opportunities for private sector cooperation in the Russian economy have never been as great as they will be in the coming years, Sputnik reports.
"It is my firm belief that the opportunities for private sector cooperation in the Russian economy have never been as great as they will be in the coming years," Page said. He said he was "working on a range of potential projects related to supporting this trend", stressing that "the possibilities today are unparalleled".
The director of the Roosevelt Fund of Study of the US at Moscow State University, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Yuri Rogulyov, speaking with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that it is difficult to predict the change in Washington's position on the Ukrainian and Crimean issues, because Page's status in the future US presidential administration is unclear yet. "He was an adviser at one time, but then was forced to leave Trump's team. Objectives of his visit are also unknown, they may be personal, for a career in the new administration," he explained.
Yuri Rogulev urged not to expect too much from the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House. "I think it would be good if the new administration generally keeps the course to a certain improvement in relations with Russia and changes the atmosphere in our relations. With regard to specific issues, I think that we should wait for any steps of the administration. At the same time, Ukraine, Crimea and even Russia will not be among the first items on the agenda of the current administration," the director of the Roosevelt Fund of Study of the US at Moscow State University stressed.
The deputy dean of the Faculty of Global Economics and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics of the National Research University, Andrei Suzdaltsev, in turn, believes that the arrival of Donald Trump's team to the White House will save Russia from a number of problems.
He said that the West has enough problems, and the two main problems are tactical and strategic.
"The United States understands that there is a tactical problem - the Middle East, Syria, where Russia is fighting against ISIS. The US are virtually absent there, and if there is no contact with Russia, then Russia will become a dominant force in the Middle East, and it's a disaster for the US. There is also a strategic problem - China. Russia and China is Beijing's huge strategic advantage. If they continue to stubbornly stand against Crimea, the Americans would face the prospect of China and Russia uniting to a single force," the expert assured.
Answering the question of whether we should expect changes in the US position on Ukraine during Trump's presidency, the expert explicitly said that we should. "But this does not mean that everything will be great with Trump. Likely to be a lot of problems, and it will happen very quickly. Trump is very fast. Of course, he will test us, how we can keep our position. So there will be a conflict is, of course. But it's okay. There is nothing to be afraid of," Andrei Suzdaltsev concluded.
