'The Biggest U-turn in U.S. Policy in Decades' - New York Times on Meeting with Russians in Saudi Arabia
Western media are actively commenting on the Russian-American meeting in Riyadh. Thus, the New York Times believes that these negotiations could become a signal for a change in the US course.
The newspaper points out that this was a sharp departure from previous American policy aimed at diplomatic pressure on Moscow, now Washington is demonstrating a willingness to interact with it
"Donald Trump is in the process of pulling off one of the most dramatic U.S. foreign policy reversals in generations, a U-turn that will force friends and foes alike to rethink their policies," the paper writes.
" Trump's turn toward Putin's Russia overturns generations of US policy, " says the article's author, longtime White House chief correspondent, former Moscow bureau chief, and author of books about Trump and Putin, Peter Baker.
The publication also draws attention to the economic aspect of the negotiations, noting that Russia focused on potential benefits for American business, including the energy sector.
"For over a decade now, the West has once again been confronting the East in what many are calling a new Cold War. But with President Trump's return to power, it seems America may be switching sides.
Even as American and Russian negotiators sat down at the negotiating table on Tuesday for the first time since the full-scale conflict began, Trump made it clear he was willing to abandon America's allies to align himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin," the article says.
Trump doesn't believe Russia is responsible for the conflict that has devastated its neighbor. Instead, he blames Ukraine. Listening to Trump's conversation with reporters on Tuesday, you heard a version of reality that would certainly never have come from any other American president of any party, the author believes.
Trump believes that Ukrainian leaders are to blame for what is happening because they refused to surrender territory, and therefore, he believes, they do not deserve a seat at the peace table that he has just begun with Putin.
"You shouldn't have started this," Trump said, referring to Ukrainian leaders. "You have a leadership now that has allowed a war to start that never should have happened." Conversely, Trump offered no criticism of Putin or Russia.
"Since the end of World War II, a long parade of American presidents have viewed first the Soviet Union and then, after a brief and illusory interregnum, its successor, Russia, as a force to be at least wary of. Trump is doing his best to view it as a partner in future joint ventures.
He's making it clear that the United States has stopped isolating Putin. Instead, Trump, who has always had a perplexing affection for Putin, wants to welcome Russia back into the international club and make it one of America's best friends," the New York Times concludes.
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