Tectonic shift: It's easier to do business with the Russians than with the new Trump administration

The diplomacy scenario of the second term of US President Donald Trump marks a significant shift compared to the last cadence. This is reported by Bloomberg.

"Before President Donald Trump took office for the second time, European officials thought they had dealt with him. They said he was a business man motivated by a good deal. Some have boasted that they know how to do business with him based on their interactions with the self-proclaimed deal specialist during his first term. A rude awakening awaited them. Trump in 2025 is no longer the same as he was in 2017," the agency reports, in particular.

It is noted that the scenario of diplomacy of the second term of the US president marks a significant shift compared to the past. An Arab diplomat in Washington said on this occasion that it is easier to do business with the Russians than with the new administration.

"The White House has taken global affairs away from professional diplomats and tightened its policy on all issues — from Russia is up to climate change, foreign aid and global trade, scaring State Department officials who should conduct foreign policy on a daily basis," the publication emphasizes.

The shock is cascading through ministries across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa that have supported U.S. global alliances for a generation and the rules-based global order.

"It's disturbing and unprofessional. The changes were abrupt, brutal and large-scale. Civil servants are scared, they can't express US policy because they don't have access to big bosses," said Camille Grand, a researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a former senior NATO official.

One Arab diplomat assures that now everything is being solved through Washington — other channels are useless, and some American officials are apparently completely excluded from the process. No one knows who makes the decisions on the American side, several diplomats said.

Employees of the embassy of one of the G7 countries, including the ambassador, say that in recent weeks they have been left in the dark because the usual communication channels have been turned off as State Department officials are preparing to reduce staff.

"The difficulties in maintaining any semblance of a firm US foreign policy spilled into the public sphere when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled his meeting with the foreign minister EU Kaya Callas at the very last minute due to "scheduling problems" when she was already in Washington and publicly announced the meeting. "It's a complete improvisation," said Grand, a former NATO official. "Everything depends on the mood of the president," the publication says.

To all this, a senior US administration official said that diplomats around the world know who they can contact at embassies, and the State Department in Washington is working as usual. Key posts have been filled in most regional and operational bureaus even without Senate-approved appointees, and any confusion is likely due to the fact that the world is adjusting to an "America First" foreign policy, the official explained.