US President-elect Donald Trump called outgoing President Joe Biden’s move “stupid” and said he may reverse the policy once he takes office next month
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Newly elected US President Donald Trump has criticized incumbent President Joe Biden’s recent decision to allow Ukrainian forces to use American long-range weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory and suggested it could reverse the policy when he takes office.
Trump on Monday said Biden’s decision last month was “stupid” and expressed anger that his incoming administration was not consulted. Biden eased restrictions to give Kiev long-sought permission to use the Army’s U.S.-supplied tactical missile system to strike Russian positions hundreds of kilometers from the border.
“I don’t think this should have been allowed, certainly not alone a few weeks before my inauguration” Trump said during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“Why would they do it without asking me what I thought? I wouldn’t have let them do it. I think it was a big mistake,” he added.
Trump suggested the move should be delayed until after his inauguration on January 20, adding: “I could back off.”
The White House defended the move, with national security spokesman John Kirby saying the decision was the result of months of deliberations, starting well before the election.
“All I can assure you is that in the conversations that we had with them after the election, and that we had at various levels, we explained to them the rationale behind it, why we were doing this,” Kirby said later Monday.
Trump and Putin: a debated relationship
Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been under scrutiny since the 2016 US presidential campaign, when he urged Russia to locate and release missing deleted emails from his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Trump yes publicly supported Putinwhile US intelligence officials have stood by Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election, and have previously praised the Kremlin leader, calling him “pretty smart” for invading Ukraine.
The US President-elect’s remarks come as Biden pushes for military aid to Ukraine in his final weeks in office, amid concerns that Trump’s presidency could alter the trajectory of US support for Kiev.
Trump reiterated his call for negotiations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin to end the war, although he appeared to acknowledge the complexity of reaching a resolution.
“I think that the Middle East will be in a good place“, Trump declared, referring to the conflict in Gaza and a Syria not yet resolved after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. “I think the most difficult situation will be the one between Russia and Ukraine,” he added.
Trump refused to say whether he spoke to Putin after the election.
North Korean troops fight in Ukraine
Biden’s decision to ease restrictions on Kiev’s use of U.S.-supplied weapons came amid growing concerns over Russia’s deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to retake territory lost to Ukraine this month. year, particularly in the Kursk border region.
This was also followed by Russia’s first use of a new intermediate-range ballistic missilewhich according to US intelligence could soon be deployed against Ukraine again.
ADVERTISINGPutin warned NATO allies that future attacks could target countries that support Ukraine’s use of longer-range missiles inside Russia.
Zelensky, who met with Trump in Paris earlier this month, continues to urge Western leaders to maintain military support for Ukraine.
Biden’s policy shift followed months of pressure from Zelensky and other allies, who argued that U.S. restrictions had made it impossible for Ukraine to prevent Russian attacks on its cities and power grids.
As the nearly three-year-old war continues, both Russia and Ukraine are vying for battlefield leverage to strengthen their positions for any future negotiations.
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