On Friday, Putin welcomed Trump’s words on willingness to restore Moscow-Washington relations. He also expressed hope that the sense of responsibility would urge next US president to cooperate with Russia.
"It would be well if President Putin got his wish and a spirit of cooperation with Russia was born," US scientist and political commentator John V. Walsh said. "But how could that happen? There is a simple answer. It will not happen if Hillary Clinton becomes president of the United States."
Walsh described Clinton as "essentially a neocon" [neo-conservative] with a proven track record of bellicosity toward other countries way back to the presidency of her husband Bill Clinton in the 1990s.
Clinton, Walsh predicted, "will push Europe ever closer to military confrontation with Russia while the United States remains safely an ocean away. The consequence for Europe — and Russia — can be seen by looking at Ukraine today."
"If Donald Trump, nemesis of the neocons, becomes US president and if he can resist the enormous pressure from the neocons and the military-industrial-congressional complex, there is a chance for peace and security, development and prosperity… But right now that is the only chance," Walsh observed.
US author and veteran foreign affairs analyst Joe Lauria said that whoever was elected, the next US president had to reverse Washington’s current policy of provocation and potential aggression against Russia if the two nations were to have a mutually beneficial partnership.
"The new president must renounce the coup the United States helped orchestrate in Kiev, force its leaders to cease military operations and implement the Minsk accords [and] recognize the loss of Crimea to Russia," Lauria stated.
Crimea rejoining Russia was a consequence of Washington backing the coup against democratically-elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, he said.
However, "a blizzard in hell is more likely to happen if Hillary Clinton becomes president and no one knows what Trump would do as he is a complete wildcard," he warned.
Either candidate if elected would present a highly dangerous situation that Russia would have great difficulty diffusing, Lauria commented.
"For the moment, it is in the hands of the American people and those in the United States who claim to be against war. Our very survival may depend on the outcome," he said.
The issue would not be decided until the US presidential election was held on November 8, Walsh concluded.
