A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article on how Trump would back Ukraine, co-authored by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, looks great. But why does it contradict what Trump has said, and why do all those involved seem to have ties to Russian oligarchs?
“A Trump Peace Plan for Ukraine,” printed Friday in the WSJ, argues that Trump would not abandon Ukraine; rather, Trump would strongly support it. How? By driving down energy prices, including by tightening relations with Saudi Arabia, revitalizing NATO, giving Ukraine a $500 Billion lend-lease-type loan, and lifting all restrictions on how Ukraine can use weapons that it gets from the US against Russia.
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Though the outlined plan is certainly robust, it is also contradictory to the policy positions that Trump has taken in relation to Ukraine.
Trump has discussed Ukraine, but has never said anything similar to the plan that was outlined by Pompeo. For instance, Trump has promised that he will end the war “in one day” and even “before he takes office,” however none of the points in Pompeo’s plan are achievable before Trump would take the Oval Office, nor would they end the war within a day.
Instead, just last month, it was reported that Trump was considering a plan to quickly end the war along current lines of battle, written by two men who “served as chiefs of staff in Trump’s National Security Council,” which clearly does not line up with what Pompeo has written.
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The WSJ article’s authors, perhaps, merit careful attention.
Pompeo’s co-author heads one of Washington DC’s best-known lobbyist firms, the BGR Group.
According to Politico, in 2022, the BGR Group lobbied Washington on behalf of Russian oligarchs Peter Aven and Mikhail Fridman. Despite initial success, both Russians ended up sanctioned by Washington in 2023.
Last year, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) “announced the seizure of all corporate rights of Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Peter Aven and Andrei Kosogov over their involvement in financing Russia in the current invasion.”
Aside from actions taken in Ukraine, both Aven and Fridman are sanctioned by the US, along with two other Russian oligarchs who “have served on the supervisory board of the Alfa Group Consortium (‘Alfa Group’), one of the largest financial and investment conglomerates in Russia,” according to the US Department of Treasury.
US intelligence has said that the Kremlin favors Trump, but why might Fridman and Aven want Trump back in the White House?
Earlier this month, Trump argued: “I don’t love sanctions” because sanctions are “forcing everyone away from us.” Perhaps the sanctioned Russians are hoping that Trump will bring them in from the cold?
We cannot be certain, but we do know that it has happened before: when Trump was president, he acted – against some of his own party leadership – to reduce the sanctions faced by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
Mike Pompeo, BGR’s Chairman, and the Trump Campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
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