Here’s how Trump could save Putin after 'serious hit': report
In a report published by The Atlantic Tuesday, staff writer Tom Nichols argues now that "Russia’s geopolitical position in Syria has collapsed," President Vladimir "Putin’s prestige and credibility have taken a serious hit."
However, one person could salvage the Russian president's reputation, Nichols emphasizes, and that's United States President-elect Donald Trump.
Nichols notes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has now been "chased from his own palace while Putin did nothing, a spectacle that casts doubt both on Putin’s power and on the value of his word."
He emphasizes, "Putin is also in other jams of his own making. The Russian economy is suffering from sanctions and from the costs of his military adventure in Ukraine. On the ground in Ukraine, his troops are advancing slowly through a meat grinder in a war that was supposed to be over in a week."
Furthermore, "The sprawling Russian Federation now looks like a banana republic that needs assistance from Pyongyang’s hermit kingdom and can’t even keep one of its own generals safe in the national capital," Nichols adds.
The Russian president's "very bad year could be a very good opportunity for the West and for the besieged Ukrainians, if the Americans and their allies continue to strain Russia’s military on the battlefield and Russia’s economy in the global marketplace—in other words," Nichols continues, "if someone other than Trump were about to become the leader of the free world."
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The Atlantic's full report is available at this link (subscription required).
