Russia hopes to "exchange" Venezuela for Ukraine — Reuters

Russia hopes to benefit from Trump's "Wild West" in real politics, even though it is losing an ally in Venezuela. This point of view is expressed by Reuters.

The capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro deprived Russian President Vladimir Putin of an ally and may strengthen the US oil influence, but Moscow is eyeing the potential benefits of dividing the world by President Donald Trump into spheres of influence, the agency claims.

"Russia has lost an ally in Latin America. But if this is an example of the Monroe doctrine in action, as it seems to me, then Russia also has its own sphere of influence," a senior Russian source quoted by USN said on condition of anonymity.

It is noted that Putin is allegedly trying to create a Russian sphere of influence in the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Ukraine, which the United States has opposed since the end of the Cold War.

"For Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the presence of the US president, focused on the Western Hemisphere and possibly bogged down in this region, seems more than acceptable, given that Russia pays special attention to Ukraine and China to Taiwan," the publication says.