Kasparov: Trump Is Working for Putin, and That Should Be Taken as Fact
Russian opposition figure and chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov told Latvia's TV24 that US President Donald Trump is acting in the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He predicts the chance of a sharp escalation in the war in Ukraine this autumn or early winter is well above 50%.
Garry Kasparov, a Russian opposition figure and chess grandmaster, has said in an interview with the TV24 channel in Brussels that US President Donald Trump is acting in the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kasparov also predicts a sharp escalation in the war in Ukraine this autumn or early winter, putting its likelihood well above 50%.
Claims about Trump
"If Trump were a Russian agent, what would he do differently?" Kasparov asked rhetorically. In his view, this should have been accepted as fact from the start. The Russian opposition figure believes everything Trump does is an attempt, sometimes clumsy, to help Putin.
Kasparov describes the deal on Ukraine as a simple transaction. He claims Trump's family has been promised a large sum of money and wants to betray Ukraine. According to him, there is no other motive. These are Kasparov's own assertions, and the interview offers no concrete evidence for them.
Pressure and elections
Kasparov argues that Trump does anything for Ukraine only because of enormous pressure, since "America is not Russia" and the president cannot do everything he wants. He adds that in January Trump may lose influence over geopolitical processes if Democrats gain the upper hand in the US Congress midterm elections.
Kasparov predicts the Republicans will suffer a heavy defeat. A new Congress would then take office in January and would almost certainly let Democrats oversee both foreign and domestic policy. They could not remove the president from office, but Trump's room for action would be minimal.
Forecast of escalation
Therefore, in Kasparov's view, Putin has three to four months while Trump still has all the levers in his hands. For these reasons he believes the likelihood of a sharp escalation this autumn or early winter is well above 50%.
