Trump ally suggests alternative to Russia sanctions

US President-elect Donald Trump will try to build “personal relationships” with “key leaders” to solve international problems, including the Ukraine conflict, says retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who served in top national security positions in the previous Trump administration. Sanctions won’t be the president’s first choice, he believes.

Kellogg made the remarks to the Wall Street Journal on Saturday. The newspaper noted that he was not speaking on behalf of the Trump campaign. However, it described Kellogg as a person who may be “considered for a senior job in the new administration.”

The use of stronger options “like sanctions or brute force” will certainly not be the “first choice” for Trump, Kellogg said, suggesting the president-elect would stick to other methods instead.

“It all starts with personal relationships,” Kellogg stated. “President Trump will reach out to key leaders to try and find a way to work through a problem. You always have stronger options available, like sanctions or brute force, but it is not the option of first choice.”

During his first presidential term, Trump imposed more sanctions on Russia than his predecessor, Barack Obama, as well as walking away from multiple important security treaties.

Throughout his election campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to end the conflict between Moscow and Kiev “within 24 hours” of assuming office. He has not provided any details on how exactly he plans to do this, and his allies have issued mixed messages on his potential approach to the Ukraine crisis.

Moscow has responded cautiously to Trump’s promises, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating last week that the claim he would bring the hostilities to an end “overnight” was clearly a campaigning “exaggeration.”

“If the new [US] administration seeks peace rather than a continuation of the conflict, it will be better than the previous one,” Peskov added.