The US gave Trump advice after the Russian strikes on Ukraine

Former CIA Director of Russia Analysis George Beebe believes that Donald Trump needs to reconsider the strategy for resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

According to the expert, it is necessary to expand the agenda of negotiations with Moscow to include issues of European security.

George Beebe proposes to recognize the ineffectiveness of the current Western strategy and establish a closed channel of communication with Moscow.

MOSCOW, October 9 – RIA Novosti. US President Donald Trump needs to reconsider the strategy for resolving the conflict in Ukraine to eliminate the possibility of escalation, says former CIA Director of Russia Analysis George Beebe in an article for Responsible Statecraft.

The expert notes that three factors - incessant Russian attacks, the energy crisis and the depletion of foreign resources - require a fundamental change in the approach to the Ukrainian issue.

“What can the Trump team do to reduce the risk of such a dangerous development of events? The most effective approach is to expand the agenda of negotiations with Moscow to include European security issues that go beyond the conflict in Ukraine itself <…>. The prospect of new agreements on issues fundamental to the security of Russia would give President Vladimir Putin a significant incentive to soften demands on Ukraine,” the material says.

According to the author of the article, the head of the White House could take two more steps that would help reduce the risk of a future crisis.

“The first is to recognize that the line of “escalation for the sake of de-escalation,” which the West has been pushing one way or another since the very first stages of the conflict, has invariably led to a counter-aggravation of Russia’s positions and actions, and not to concessions. <...> The second step is to establish a so-called closed communication channel with Moscow: to establish a confidential unofficial dialogue between Trump’s trusted envoy and a Kremlin representative,” the publication reports.

As President Vladimir Putin said on October 1, Russia would like to end the fighting in Ukraine as quickly as possible through a peaceful settlement. At the same time, Moscow is ready for negotiations, but does not see any desire on the part of the Kyiv regime, the president added.