Trump: "a great thing" if Ukraine and Russian "got along together"

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a meeting with
reporters before departing for India on Friday, Feb. 21, was asked about his
view on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s assertion that if Ukraine and Russia
were to unite, they could create a world superpower. According to RFE/RL, Trump
responded by saying, “Well, I’d like to see them come together. I think if
they came together in the sense that they got along with each other, that would
be a great thing.” He went on to say that he would be amenable toward the two
countries working out a peace agreement.

James Hydzik: Trump may be stating the
obvious on some level in that neighborly relations between countries is good,
and that peace deals should generally be supported by world leaders. However,
and this should be remembered if cries are heard about him giving away Ukraine
to the Russians (again); the multi-layered strife in this part of the world has
created nothing but problems for him, and he’s expended vast amounts of
political capital on domestic issues stemming from eastern Europe. Calm and
quiet relations here would allow Trump to get on with his domestic focus.
Furthermore, the rise of another ‘world superpower’ is not something he would
like to see. Putin’s statement, made mostly for domestic consumption, is not
going to resonate with Trump.