\u201cTrump is right too that our present approach has failed (sanctions have boosted Russian determination), and if we are to avoid slipping into a dangerous new Cold War, we need to listen to the Russians instead of lecturing them,\u201d<\/em> Brenton wrote in the Telegraph.<\/p>\n The West\u2019s \u201cdemonization\u201d<\/em> of Russian President Vladimir Putin is also out of hand, Brenton added.<\/p>\n \u201cWith military expenditure one-tenth of that of the West, Russia is not the threat our \u2018experts\u2019 wallow in.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Brenton says Britain\u2019s \u201csecurity and prosperity\u201d<\/em> will lie in Trump\u2019s hands, and Downing Street must look for common ground to push the relationship forward.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump has said some deeply worrying things, from weakening the NATO defense guarantee to encouraging the Japanese and South Koreans to develop nuclear weapons,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are probably the best placed country to help guide this in a sensible direction.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Brenton added that Trump is underestimating the importance of NATO unity in getting Russia to the conference table.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are better ways to press our feckless European partners into spending what they ought to on defence than threatening to withdraw the US guarantee, and we should be working with the US to find them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
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