Joseph Robinette Biden Jr would continue to serve as the 46th President of the US for another one and a half months… till the return of Donald John Trump to the White House. Experts believe that the outgoing President could make a move in this short period of time which could lead to a temporary end to the Russia-Ukraine War!

The question arises here: How could President Biden resolve the issue, which has remained unresolved for the last two and a half years, in this short span of time? In fact, electoral promises made by Trump during his campaign are behind it! Trump was heard saying that he would “end” the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of becoming President! He also claimed that he would not have let so many people to perish and would have solved the problems between the two former Soviet Republics long ago, had he been the President!

According to Trump, he has a good personal relationship with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Hence, it would not take long for him to convince the two Heads of State for a ceasefire. The President-elect opined that Zelenskyy made a mistake by engaging in an armed conflict with Russia! He also blasted Biden for provoking Kiev, instead of helping the two countries in finding a diplomatic solution! Trump is of the opinion that it is Biden who triggered the crisis by exporting arms and defence equipment to Ukraine.

It is clear from Trump’s comments that he could push Ukraine to negotiate with Russia after taking charge as the 47th US President. He could also ask President Zelenskyy to cede several regions, including the Donbas, to Russia! Trump could even advise both Ukraine and Russia to withdraw troops from the border areas. Most importantly, the Trump Administration could stop providing Kiev with arms and financial aid. Then, helpless Zelenskyy would have no other option, but to sign a peace treaty with Russia.

It may be noted that US Vice President-elect James David Vance outlined Trump’s views on a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine immediately after the 2024 Presidential Elections. He stressed that Ukraine should not join NATO and stay neutral.

According to political analysts, both Biden and Zelenskyy are worried about Trump’s future plan (for Ukraine). If Trump manages to broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine after entering the White House, then Biden and his party may come under fire! The outgoing US President would also be blamed for the loss of lives in Ukraine and Russia. As Biden is well aware of this, he may make serious efforts to resolve the conflict by the end of December 2024. According to sources close to Kiev, President Zelenskyy, too, wants Biden to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict as he knows that his country may lose some important regions, if Trump interferes in this matter! A peace treaty (to be brokered by Trump) may largely protect Russia’s interests.

Although the Kremlin is yet to respond to Trump’s peace proposal, a senior official of Ukraine has stated that such a proposal should be prepared after considering the real picture. That’s why President Zelenskyy wants Biden to make a final decision on Russia and Ukraine while he is still in office. However, the entire matter depends on Russia. According to geopolitical experts, peace talks between Ukraine and Russia may begin only after Trump’s return to the White House, no matter what Biden or Zelenskyy would desire.

White House Gets First Woman Chief Of Staff
In what may be seen as a reward for helping him to win the 2024 Presidential Elections, President-elect Donald Trump has appointed his campaign manager Susan ‘Susie’ Summerall Wiles as the Chief of Staff of the White House. Her job would be to connect the 47th President with the rest of the administration and to monitor whether Trump’s ideas would be implemented at the administrative level. Incidentally, a woman has been appointed as Chief of Staff in a rare first!

Trump prepared his campaign strategy during the Presidential Elections mainly on the basis of Susie’s advice. She has been quite successful in making Trump punctual and disciplined during the campaign. Susie previously worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign, as well as Ronald Wilson Reagan‘s 1980 campaign.

However, Susie has always preferred to stay away from the limelight! When Trump delivered his victory speech in Florida after winning the elections on November 6 (2024), Susie refused to speak in the event. Later, Trump acknowledged her accomplishments, mentioning in a written statement: “Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns.” He added: “Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to ‘Make America Great Again’. It is a well-deserved honour to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.“

Since 1946, there have been 31 Chiefs of Staff at the White House. Wiles (67) will be the 32nd Chief of Staff and the first woman to hold the position. The US Federal Government did not have a White House Chief of Staff until the mid-1940s. The need for the position was felt after the role of the executive branch expanded and was reorganised to deal with the Great Depression (1929-39) and the Second World War (1939-45) under the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Administration.

In his 2012 article ‘Chief of Staff: Politics meets Power’ published in Politico, historian and Boston University Professor Bruce Schulman mentioned that it was during these two events when “the presidency emerged as the pre-eminent government branch – no longer on equal terms with Congress and charged with primary responsibility for all aspects of federal policy”.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das