What is your first reaction to Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election?

It is clear that it was not possible to commit election fraud at the level of 2020 or using similar tricks this time around. The Republicans had prepared for it, determined how ballots were ordered, filled out, who distributed them and how activists were used to perpetrate fraud on a massive scale. It did not work this time. That is one comment I have.

Secondly, it became clear to the U.S. deep state and the American public that the world would not take USA seriously had it elected Trump's opposing candidate and her goofy laugh.

The Biden term was a disaster. While he may have declared that America was back, it meant escaping from Afghanistan with their tail tucked between their legs, after which all hell broke loose.

In the case of Kamala Harris, the world would not have taken such a U.S. president seriously. America's position as world leader continues to weaken. That is surely one reason public opinion slowly turned against her. It is quite possible that even people who are not entrenched Trump supporters decided to side with him in the end.

One important aspect is that Trump will have control of the Senate and quite probably also the Congress (House of Representatives – ed.). This means that he will make good on his promise of draining the swamp, meaning that the unlimited power of American special services will be dialed back, which will have global consequences.

What could Trump's victory spell for us, our neck of the woods?

We're seeing steps toward a new world order. No one – major powers, all of which are also nuclear powers in this day and age – wants to see situations where things could get out of control and lead to nuclear confrontation. The Ukraine war is the catalyst that will likely drive agreements that will form a new multipolar world, and we'll probably see a lot of diplomatic activity.

Why the Russians did not want Trump... as it's completely erroneous to claim Russia wanted Trump to win. They did not really support either side. Rather, Russia aimed to sow as much confusion as possible in USA and made no secret of the fact that it wanted to see – and they still do, since nothing is over until it's over and there's a two-month transitionary period to come – the Russians wanted and still want to see chaos, for America to be paralyzed. They want America to be unable to interfere, give Ukraine plentiful and purposeful aid, as well as deal with other situations, such as Israel. Meanwhile, China is hoping the Americans to land in a weaker position in the Far East.

The game is being played on a broader level. While we're only talking about Ukraine, the game is bigger than that. But Ukraine is a catalyst forcing major powers to revisit where their influence collides. And as concerns Estonia, we're likely one such region.

What do you mean when you say a new world order?

What I mean is what several theorists in various countries, and sporting very different political views, have suggested that there will be satellites revolving around cores, core territories. Right now, those territories are in flux – for example, it is not clear what will happen with the Caucasus – Russia is playing there, as is Turkey and the Islamic world, or whether the West will continue to have a say in the region. I believe the Caucasus will drop out of the West's sphere of influence completely. But that is just my personal opinion, which doesn't mean anything. It's just an example of what I mean.

Things are also confusing in Central Asia. It is a vital region both in terms of raw materials and strategic depth, as well as demographically. For example, Central Asia is a vital source of labor for Russia, even though they're having serious problems with migrants. It matters a great deal to China as a source of resources and market. The West is also trying to promote its interests there, mostly through raw material acquisitions: huge oil deposits in Turkmenistan, gold in Uzbekistan, oil in Kazakhstan – someone will emerge victorious. No one wants to fight over these things, but there will be agreements, which will be complex and difficult to come by.

The same goes for the Far East. The two Koreas, Taiwan, as well as China-Japan relations – it is an intricate package of relationships in terms of who will court whom, and whose interests overlap to the greatest degree.

That is the new world order, and no one knows what it will be exactly. Theorists may draw all kinds of maps, suggesting America will have these and these satellites, while Russia and China will have such and such. There are smaller and bigger spheres – no one knows for sure. And it will be a case of either agreements or war.

We're at the start of a very difficult period, and over the next four years that Trump will be president, he will attempt to sort out the situation and this kind of spherical world as a dealmaker.

We are closer to Russia than we are to America. What can we do?

Well, we're also in the EU and NATO. But, looking from America – and I know this amounts to heresy – it would make a lot of sense to disband NATO. Because that would allow the U.S. to make the agreements it needs to make without having to consider the Germans, French and the European Commission. It may happen at one point, and I'm not suggesting it's their plan today. But in that case, we will be the object of the trade, the currency. And the Russians have been clear in that they feel NATO should pull back to its 1997 (pre-enlargement – ed.) borders, which is what they'll seek when negotiating with America.

Naturally, the U.S. does not want the ring of independent states on Russia's border to move under their control or for Russia to incorporate them altogether. The Russians also don't want the latter, because they lack the demographic and economic resources to pay out pensions, build roads and military bases etc. in the countries in question. They want something akin to what Finland was during the Cold War – a Finlandized or semi-Finlandized region. Basically, a region regarding which they have no fear it might become a military bridgehead to threaten Russia.

I don't know what these agreement will be. I'm no prophet and do not own a crystal ball. What I want to say is that we will see Trump's foreign policy become much stronger, more active and less in the service of the military industrial complex.

The latter suggests things may take a turn for the serious or tragic for us, if we're left to our own devices like that.

Who ever said that military and other kinds of alliances are forever? No one did! Politics and international relations never end.

I've been warning about these changes for at least the past decade. I've been labeled a Russian agent for it, but now we find ourselves in this moment and realize we should have paid attention sooner.

It should have been addressed when (then-EDF commander) Riho Terras talked about feasible national defense, also when I was interior minister and spoke about the need for an internal security reserve, a stockpiles agency, civil defense etc. Back then, they said I wanted absolute power and to install a dictatorship, plus whatever else our lovely press and political opponents fed to the public.

So, yes. Things will be difficult for us, I'll not beat about the bush – we will no longer be able to rely on the same cliches.

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