Friends helping friends
Former US President Donald Trump has requested Russian leader Vladimir Putin release any information on Hunter Biden, current US President Joe Biden’s son.
Putin knows, maybe
“I would think Putin would know the answer to that,” Trump stated in an exclusive interview for Real America’s Voice news channel. CNN has described the request as “brazen”.
An ongoing investigation
While it’s true that there’s an ongoing criminal investigation into the finances of Hunter Biden and his business dealings abroad, nothing seems to back the former president’s allegations.
Moscow politics
Donald Trump claims, for instance, that the younger Biden received 3,5 million US dollars from the wife of the late mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov, seen in this picture on the far-right.
Do as I say, not as I do
Politico points out that the former US president himself did business with the Moscow politician in the late 1990s.
Impeachment
Trump allegedly tried to extort information about Hunter Biden from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy by refusing military aid. These were the accusations that led to Trump’s first impeachment process in 2019.
‘Genius’
In the past, former US President Donald Trump praised Putin’s tactics in the early days of the invasion, calling him “genius” on a radio show hosted by Buck Sexton and Clay Travis.
It takes one to know one
Despite all the opportunities the Fox News TV host gave the former president to denounce Putin, Trump simply said that “he gets along well” with Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
Trying to play it safe
Trump has tried to play it safe since then, arguing on ‘The Sean Hannity Show’ that “this doesn’t seem the same Putin I was dealing with”.
Pictured: Sean Hannity and Donald Trump during a rally in 2018.
Picking sides
Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson, the host of the most-watched cable news program in the United States, asked in November 2019 “Why should I care if there’s a war between Ukraine and Russia? And why I shouldn’t root for Russia? Which I am”.
Nothing against Putin
And just days before the Ukrainian invasion, he questioned the rhetoric that portrays Putin as a villainous figure. “Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him?” Carlson asked on his show.
An alternative to mainstream media?
Since then, he and others at Fox News have tried to distance themselves from their previous editorial line. Still, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov praised Fox News as “an alternative” to mainstream media, according to The Guardian.
The friends we make along the way
As the leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin has gathered all sorts of international allies from the left and the right, joined by their opposition to the world order set by the United States and Western Europe.
Alone
However, since the Ukrainian invasion started, many of the friends of the man in the Kremlin seem to have left him alone. Here are some Putin’s most notable allies that have taken a step back at this most critical time.
Putin’s man in the EU
Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, regarded as the European leader that is closest to Putin, joined the rest of EU states to condemn Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
‘We stand by Ukraine’
“Hungary’s position is clear: we stand by Ukraine, we stand by Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” said Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto days after the invasion, as quoted by Associated Press.
Hungary’s eastern opening
According to a March 7 article published by the Financial Times, Orbán has promoted an “eastern opening” to Russia, while opposing NATO and EU’s policies in the region.
Opponents
However, some have seen it as Orbán playing it safe before a general election.
CNN reports that after winning a fourth consecutive term as Prime Minister in early April, he counted Ukrainian president Zelensky among his opponents, along with EU bureaucrats and the international media.
Czechia follows Hungary
Czech President Miloš Zeman is another pro-Putin European leader that has been forced to recant after the Ukrainian invasion, which Zeman argued was out of the question for Russia until the very end.
‘A crime against peace’
“Russia has committed a crime against peace,” declared Zeman, as quoted by Associated Press. Reuters, meanwhile, reported on February 24 that the Russian consulates in the Czech Republic would be forced to close down.
Almaty protests
The former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, traditionally an ally and deeply dependent of Russia, has marked distance from Moscow and even allowed a pro-Ukrainian protest in Almaty, the country’s largest city.
Neither here nor there
The country, NBC News reports, also denied a request from its troops to join Russian forces in the military operation in Ukraine.
Pictured: Vladimir Putin with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2018.
Between the East and the West
Turkey, a member of NATO that shares deep economic ties with Russia, has done its best to keep a middle ground between the two.
An anti-Russian sanctuary
On one hand, Turkey has been described as a “sanctuary to anti-war Russians” by Al Jazeera. Here you can see a pro-Ukrainian protest on March 5 in Istanbul.
Serving as a mediator
On the other hand, the country has refused to press sanctions or close its airspace. Turkey’s unique position has functioned for its government to serve as a mediator of sorts between Moscow and Kyiv, as Al Jazeera highlights.
The enemy of my enemy
India finds itself in a similar situation to Turkey’s. New Delhi and Moscow have historically shared good relations, united in part to certain antagonism to China, which has continued to blossom under Vladimir Putin and India’s PM Narendra Modi.
Abstained to vote
India abstained to vote in a March 2 UN resolution condemning the invasion of Ukraine, as reported by Vox, and it remains Russia’s biggest client when it comes to arms.
Peace effort
Still, Modi contacted Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky in February, offering to “contribute in any way towards the peace effort”.
Shifting BRICS
Elsewhere, Putin’s former allies have tried to cut their losses and fall in line, condemning the Ukrainian invasion. Brazilian right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro stated in the early days of the conflict that his country would remain “neutral”, as cited by Deutsche Welle.
An awkward visit
Deutsche Welle points out that Bolsonaro had visited Putin just a few days before the invasion. Bolsonaro’s Vice President Hamilton Mourão was stronger in his condemnation of Russia’s actions and called for military support in Kyiv.
South Africa blames NATO
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, meanwhile, has shown solidarity with Putin, blaming NATO’s expansion for provoking the war, and affirmed that he would resist any calls to condemn Russia, according to Reuters.
‘The war could have been avoided’
“The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from amongst its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region,” Ramaphosa declared on parliament on March 17, as quoted by Reuters.
Pictured: Putin in South Africa in 2006.
Don’t cry for me, Argentina
Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández, who in early February had offered his country to Putin as “the gateway of Russia to Latin America”, per France24, joined Brazil in voting to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations on March 2. South Africa abstained.
Former best friends
Nonetheless, the biggest conundrum remains China and its President Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader has referred to Putin as “his best friend” in the past, and both have supported each other in the international landscape before.
A small favor
China apparently asked Russia to delay the Ukrainian invasion to not clash with the 2022 Winter Olympics, according to The New York Times.
Backing out
US President Joe Biden has tried to warn China it could face sanctions if it aids Russia in its military operation in Ukraine. Beijing so far remains neutral as much as possible.
