| Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be assuming that US President-elect Donald Trump will defer to the Kremlin’s interests and preferences without the Kremlin offering any concessions or benefits in return. Putin stated during his November 7 Valdai Club address that he is open to discussions meant to “restore” US-Russia relations but that the United States must initiate these negotiations, and implied that Russia will only consider a reset in US-Russia relations if the United States drops sanctions against Russia and ceases supporting Ukraine – terms that exclusively benefit Russia and offer no benefit to the United States. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted on November 8 that Putin’s statement about negotiating with the United States does not mean that Russia’s military goals in Ukraine have changed and that instead, Russia’s goals remain the same. Putin may be attempting to posture himself as reaching out to Trump, but Putin is signaling to his domestic audiences that the Kremlin is unwilling to concede any aspect of its maximalist objectives in Ukraine or the wider global arena. Russian opposition outlet Meduza reported that the Kremlin issued a manual to state and pro-Kremlin media with instructions to cover Putin’s Valdai statements by highlighting the special role Russia plays in bringing about a proposed “new world order” and portraying Putin as the “world’s greatest leader” whose deep thinking, “breadth of political thought,” and role as the “voice of the global majority and new world order” distinguish him from Western political leaders, presumably including Trump. Meduza noted that, by contrast, the manual does not mention reporting Putin’s statements about Trump or possible future negotiations with the United States about the war in Ukraine, even though Putin largely aimed his Valdai statements at shaping Trump’s foreign policy and achieving another reset in US-Russian relations on Russia’s terms. Putin’s proposed “new world order” emphasizes an interconnected international system without great powers or security blocs, but the Kremlin’s actions contradict and undermine his proposed ideals and principles. Putin presented a six-point plan for his “new world order,” which includes: an openness among states to interact with each other; the absence of universal dogmas; an accounting for all countries’ perspectives when making global decisions; the rejection of security blocs that unite groups of states; “justice for all,” including eradicating xenophobia and intolerance; and the “sovereign equality” of all states. Putin’s proposal ignores the Kremlin’s ongoing efforts to increase its power and influence in neighboring countries, including destabilization efforts in Moldova and Georgia; courting a group of anti-Western states such as North Korea, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and Iran; and conducting its illegal and unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine. The Kremlin likely aims to use this rhetoric to distract from and provide plausible deniability against the very real Russian efforts to undermine pro-Western governments and exert its influence internationally, as well as promote the expansion of BRICS and the so-called “new Eurasian security architecture” that the Kremlin has created to oppose NATO. Key Takeaways: Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be assuming that US President-elect Donald Trump will defer to the Kremlin’s interests and preferences without the Kremlin offering any concessions or benefits in return. Putin’s proposed “new world order” emphasizes an interconnected international system without great powers or security blocs, but the Kremlin’s actions contradict and undermine his proposed ideals and principles. Putin also acknowledged that Russia is dealing with a serious labor shortage and is largely reliant on migrants to address it. Putin doubled down on an existing information operation falsely claiming that Ukraine violated its neutral status in an attempt to justify Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Putin notably attempted to downplay Russia’s burgeoning relationship with North Korea during his November 7 Valdai Club statements, likely in an effort to maintain some semblance of a relationship with South Korea and discourage South Korean support for Ukraine. The Kremlin continues to build its relationship with Venezuela as a means of consolidating and expanding its influence in the Western hemisphere. The Ukrainian General Staff reported on November 8 that Ukrainian forces recorded 323 cases of Russian forces using ammunition equipped with chemical agents banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in October 2024 alone. Ukrainian forces recently advanced in northern Novoivanovka, Kursk Oblast. Russian forces recently advanced south of Chasiv Yar, southeast of Kurakhove, and north of Vuhledar. Regional Russian authorities continued to promote the expansion of newly established regional territorial defense formations by highlighting efforts to recruit women. |
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