MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's remark on lifting anti-Russian sanctions in exchange for nuclear disarmament means that the next U.S. administration will probably focus on business rather than ideology at the prospective negotiations with Moscow, Russian experts in U.S. studies said.
"I would describe such remarks by the U.S. president-elect as 'Trump's paradox' or 'Trump's logic'. Nuclear weapons or means of their delivery have never been exchanged directly for economic sanctions. It is a separate question how practical and feasible the Trump ideas are. It is important to say that, by suggesting such intricate and paradoxical combinations, Trump innovates international relations as a businessman," leading research fellow of the Russian Academy of Sciences' U.S. and Canada Studies Institute and expert in U.S. political processes Vladislav Vasilyev told Interfax on Monday.
"This economic logic will be running through the activity of the Trump Administration in the near future. This is the logic of paradoxical deals. Trump's presidency will show whether this innovation can take root. Probably, something will become clear two years from now. Trump is full of surprises, and I believe he will give lots of causes to be surprised in the future," Vasilyev said.
As to the quality dimension of Trump's idea, the expert said the exchange was visibly unequal.
"The policy of sanctions has certain peculiarities, as sanctions per se are not linked to nuclear weapons for most part. The sanctions may be lifted today and reinstated tomorrow. There is no direct link here," Vasilyev said.
In the opinion of the expert, Trump is likely to add a system of paradoxes not only to the relations with Moscow but also U.S. foreign policy in general after his inauguration.
"This administration will offer something brand new. That will apply not only to Russia-U.S. relations. It seems it will run through the relations between Washington and Beijing, the relations between the United States and the EU, even in the relations with Mexico and Latin American countries," Vasilyev said.
A principal conclusion to be drawn from Trump's comments is that the next administration is likely to be pragmatic rather than ideologized in its dialogue with Moscow, in contrast to the Obama Administration, Director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for U.S. Studies at Moscow Lomonosov University Yury Rogulev said.
"It's hard to understand what Trump means from the practical angle, but the remark itself obviously demonstrates that the resolution of many problems in international relations will be addressed by means of deals. On the whole, this approach looks more productive because it is actually based on pragmatism rather than on ideological principles, which the Obama Administration has been guided with," Rogulev told Interfax.
"As to this matter, I do not think that Russia treats the sanctions as a life or death matter. It is hard to imagine that Moscow can change any aspects of its nuclear sphere in exchange for the lifting of the sanctions. These two categories have different weight," Rogulev said.
In addition, Moscow and Washington have agreed on the quantity of nuclear weapons, he said.
"Concerning further reduction of nuclear weapons, if this is what Trump means, Russia will not take these steps. One should keep in mind missile defense systems and the enlargement of NATO forces stationed near western Russian borders. It will require months or even longer negotiations because a deal can hardly be struck rapidly," he said.
Trump said that nuclear arsenals should be markedly reduced in exchange for lifting U.S. sanctions against Russia. Commenting on a possible deal with Russia to the Times and Bild, Trump said that nuclear weapons should be a part of it and nuclear arsenals should be markedly reduced in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions against Russia.