Russia urges Donald Trump to stay President 'beyond 2028'

Russian state media has voiced support for Donald Trump remaining in power beyond the end of his second term, suggesting "there is a chance" he could remain in the Oval Office beyond 2028. The BBC's long-time Russia Correspondent Steve Rosenberg highlighted hopes of Trump remaining US President among Russia's political commentariat during one of his regular round ups of

Rosenberg noted a piece in the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda that identified "Seven Scenarios" of how Trump's leadership could affect 's war in , which has raged since February 2022. Featuring input from political scientists, the article identifies scenarios that would be positive for the Kremlin and others that would be negative.

Negatives include concerns that Trump will be turned against Russia by "advisors whispering in his ear that Russia is taking him for a ride" as his administration leads peace talks to end the fighting.

The paper also acknowledged the likelihood of the Republican firebrand distancing himself from the peace process, characterising this scenario as a missed opportunity for Russia.

A political scientist wrote: "There's an unlikely to another political figure in the Western World any time soon with such opportunities to resolve the Ukraine situation", foreseeing that "London and Paris will send troops to Ukraine under the guise of peacekeepers and will provoke US involvement in the conflict to defend Nato allies".

So far, Britain and France have said they are willing to send troops as a "reassurance force" to cement any potential ceasefire and deter further Russian aggression against ports, cities, and important energy infrastructure, as per .

A possible positive scenario the outlet identified is that Trump will facilitate a restoration of full diplomomatic relations with Russia, "and we will sign an agreement with Washington on a new detente" (an easing of hostility or strained relations).

The piece added that for this "positive scenario", which the US administration has voiced a desire for, the 78-year-old "needs to stay in power, ideally after 2028, too", adding that there is "a chance of this happening".

Trump hasn't ruled out trying to seek a third term in office, which appears to be precluded by the US Constitution.

It makes clear that no person "shall be elected more than twice", though supporters of the President, including influential hard-right political strategist and Trump's top adviser during his first term, Steve Bannon, have suggested there may be ways around it.

During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to broker a swift end to the Russia-Ukraine war, but negotiations have yet to make significant progress.

The White House has been accused of favouring , echoing Kremlin criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and making a number of early concessions to such as immediately ruling out future NATO membership for Kyiv.

Ukraine has warned that Russia is not serious about peace, and is merely playing along to continue its aggression towards Kyiv.

Russia's forces have continued to hammer Ukrainian territory throughout talks, and last week Trump and his Sectetary of State Marco Rubio indicated the US could walk away from the negotiations if progress is not made soon.

Soon after, Putin announced on Saturday a surprise 30-hour "truce" to pause the fighting between 4pm BST that day until 10pm BST (midnight in Moscow) on Sunday, which he claimed was ordered out of "humanitarian" considerations.

But Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's forces had violated it thousands of times, and Russia claimed to have repelled assaults by Ukraine, whilst accusing Kyiv of launching hundreds of drones and shells, as per The claims of both sides couldn't be verified.