WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Friday, White House spokesperson Sean Spicer said in a briefing that the United States should accept the political reality with respect to Assad being in power and focus on eliminating the Daesh terror group (banned in Russia).
"[The comment is] a recognition of reality, which is always a good thing," Armstrong said on Friday.
Such an approach would allow Trump to concentrate on his domestic policies, where he is facing continued opposition from the Democrats in Congress and revolts from libertarian-leaning Republicans, he pointed out.
"My personal view is that Trump is concentrating on domestic affairs at this time," Armstrong said.
Armstrong, who previously served as Charge d’affaires in the Canadian Embassy in Moscow, noted that Trump also wanted to avoid unnecessary conflicts with other countries in the Middle East.
Trump’s "foreign policy has been somewhat derailed by the anti-Russia hysteria that has taken hold of the chattering classes [in the United States," Armstrong added.
Until his retirement, Armstrong was a Canadian diplomat who was a specialist on the Soviet Union and Russia. He previously served as political counselor in the Canadian Embassy in Moscow.
