Kasekamp: ‘Deal maker’ Trump’s lack of values appealing to Putin
As everywhere, people in Estonia are surprised about Trump’s victory. Political scientist and Tartu University professor Andres Kasekamp told BNS on Wednesday that some of Donald Trump’s foreign and security policy positions were worrying from Estonia’s point of view.
Kasekamp pointed out that a lot of people in Estonia had expressed concern over Trump’s foreign and security policy positions, or more precisely the absence thereof. “During the campaign, Trump expressed his doubts over the necessity of NATO, and said that the U.S. would only help those who pay for it themselves,” Kasekamp said.
The fact that Trump painted himself a businessman good at making deals was something that appealed to Vladimir Putin, Kasekamp said. “A leader who does not hold on to values and is ready to share spheres of influence. That’s a very dangerous mentality for Estonia and the Baltic countries.”
Kasekamp added that in reality nobody knew what to expect of Trump. People would like to think that he won’t do what he talked about during his campaign, but there was no way of knowing.
According to Kasekamp, a lot will depend on who Trump’s cabinet and advisors are going to be. “Hopefully they can restrain Trump’s most extreme positions or initiatives,” he said, adding that the Congress and Senate also had the ability to stop the president.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn
Source: BNS