Vladimir Putin's American dilemma

Correspondent in Moscow

Vladimir Putin had still not, Thursday morning, congratulated Donald Trump on his electoral victory, nor had an official exchange with him, unlike many other heads of state. In front of the Valdai club, however, the Russian president declared that he congratulated his American counterpart on his election to the presidency of the United States. From the outset, however, the wait-and-see attitude mixed with cautious satisfaction on the part of the Russian authorities – this new president of a country « enemy » will be judged « on his actions »they said – fueled the hypothesis of embarrassment on the part of Vladimir Putin in the face of the initiatives promised by candidate Trump on Ukraine, an issue described as “existential” by the head of the Kremlin.

On the one hand, « the joy of the Russian leaders is linked to the fact that, according to them, Trump's victory will mean less aid to Ukraine and less interest in Europe. (…) The election also showed that Russia…