President Trump recently remarked that he would look into the Ukraine crisis. More specifically he said he would look into the separatist movement in Ukraine. But, POTUS Trump has stated he will not lift Russian sanctions. The future state of Trumpian foreign policy toward Ukraine is a complete unknown. But it’s shaping up to be something unique and different, so far.

At first, President Trump was critical and skeptical of NATO. Many in the media and electorate felt as though he might be willing to disintegrate the relationship between the United States and NATO. However, he has since doubled down on the US partnership in NATO. The White House has tailored its critique to say that NATO nations ought to pay their fair share. Although, to their credit, NATO countries do much politically and via cooperation and provide freedom of movement on their sovereignty.

Ukraine is incredibly weary of global intentions to help their nation. They’re already fighting their civil war that also looks like a Russian proxy war, alone. The violence is not unprecedented, but it is severe. The combat in Ukraine is now more intense than that of Syria. While Ukraine continues to circle the drain, the new White House is drafting a plan to eliminate ISIS. From planning to implementation of the plan to take on ISIS it could be years before the White House can make strides in Ukraine.

Because of the prolonged battle against ISIS, Ukraine might be ripe for a diplomatic solution. Diving into recent comments by President Trump indicates some other-than-war solution is on the horizon. The New York Times published an interesting piece describing recent comments on Ukraine by Trump. “President Trump cast doubt on whether Moscow is backing separatists engaged in the recent escalation of fighting in eastern Ukraine, appearing to side with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has long denied involvement in the conflict despite evidence to the contrary.”

Before many begin to suspect ulterior motives, remember Trump has been skeptical of Syrian rebels, as well; an assertion that he might be proved to be mostly correct. Trump, while campaigning, cast doubt on the identity and real motives of the moderate Syrian rebels. Although we’ve heard little from them as of late – legitimate reporting in virtually every media outlet corroborates his suspicion as something closer to a real fact. The bottom line is that a holistic and investigative assessment of Ukraine is necessary. Then, real policy decisions can be made with a full picture. U.S. Foreign Policy is often in a state of flux and changes and loses focus at an equal rate.

Editorial cartoon courtesy of Robert L. Lang