The U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s possible next steps during his term in office are being evaluated based on the current situation. However, all the speculations may come to nothing as there are still two months until Jan. 20, when Trump will take office – two whole months.
We don’t know if they will try to kill him again. However, the developments in foreign policy in these two months may render Trump’s promises or the projections drawn through his Cabinet null and void.
Yes, Trump shook hands with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office and said he was looking forward to a peaceful transition. But after Trump left the White House, the Biden administration (or should we say Harris) dynamited the peace. It took a step it hadn’t taken in years and announced that it was allowing Ukraine to use U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) on Russian territory.
Is this not already sabotaging the Trump administration, which promised to stop the war in Ukraine?
“This means a new situation in terms of U.S. involvement in this conflict,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Washington is pouring gasoline on the fire.” We know that Putin has warned Western countries against such a move, saying that it would mean NATO’s “direct involvement” in the Ukrainian war. He even directly said, “We will strike London.”
If tensions continue to rise at this level, when Trump takes office, he may find the U.S. in irreversible conflict with Russia.
This is not a remote possibility. Recent history shows that in the two months that their president, elected in November, has been in office, tensions have risen all over the world. Terrorist attacks, provocations and conflicts are intensifying in geographies where the U.S. is struggling for influence. These two months serve as a transitional period for the new president to be forced into the foreign policy engagements of the previous term.
Trump is of course aware of this situation. He does not want to inherit a wreck in Ukraine. The fact that the first statesman he received before taking office was Mark Rutte, the new secretary general of NATO, may be an indication of his efforts to intervene in the situation.
It is noteworthy that Rutte left Trump’s side and went to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In his meeting with Erdoğan, Rutte probably conveyed Trump’s position on the issue. Erdoğan’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin the day before the NATO secretary general’s visit also hints at Türkiye’s position in the event of a possible crisis.
Türkiye is the only NATO member that can maintain cordial diplomacy with Russia. In addition to the cordial diplomacy between Erdoğan and Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also trusts Ankara. Both sides agree that Türkiye is the most suitable partner for peace talks. Türkiye’s unique position has mitigated the effects of the war on the world, such as the opening of the grain corridor.
I hope we will get through the coming weeks without incident. Trump will certainly need Türkiye in this process, both in Ukraine and on the Gaza front.