With Donald Trump set to be sworn in as the 47th president on January 20, the question is how incumbent Joe Biden will grapple with the "difficult diplomacy" related to Ukraine, the Middle East and beyond in the meantime.
Biden administration officials recognize that they already have much less sway with other nations and just a limited ability to make policy decisions that can endure beyond inauguration day, as they are in a rush to Trump-proof their alleged accomplishments, according to the Washington Post.
On Ukraine, the WP argues that the Biden administration may focus on shipping as much military supplies as they can to the Kiev regime amid their fears that Trump may pull the plug. Biden could decide on taking "a maximalist approach toward helping Ukraine over the next couple of months," even though some White House officials "oppose the idea."
Reports that Biden plans to send 500 Patriot and NASAMS missiles to Kiev are "not implausible but even if he goes through with it, everyone knows that this is a final gesture and that US largess is at an end," Dan Lazare, US constitutional historian and political commentator, tells Sputnik.
As for the Middle East, there are three separate conflicts in which Israel is now involved — Gaza, Lebanon and Iran — and "none is likely to be resolved before Trump takes office," per the WP. The Foreign Policy claimed that Biden may opt not to veto a resolution stipulating sanctions on Israel if it doesn’t agree to accept a Gaza ceasefire deal.
In this vein, Lazare stresses that "while Biden may engage in a few holding actions, the game is up" because Trump’s "margin of victory was so decisive that he’ll effectively be calling the shots from here on out."
In the Asia Pacific, Biden is due to attend the upcoming APEC summit in Peru as his administration braces for disruption of regional alliances, per Al Jazeera. The outgoing US president "may put in an appearance" at the upcoming G20 and APEC summits, "but it’s doubtful that he’ll even get a round of applause" there, Lazare says.
On November 5, Trump defeated Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris with a decisive victory, securing 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226. Trump also won the popular vote by obtaining about 74 million votes nationwide, compared to around 70 million votes for Harris, per the latest estimates.