Trump pledges to ‘build strongest military the world has ever seen’

U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed in his inauguration speech to “build the strongest military the world has ever seen.”

At the same time, the president hinted at a reshaping of America’s foreign policy.

He criticized the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden, saying: “We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders, but refuses to defend American borders, or, more importantly, its own people.”

As Central and Eastern European nations watched his speech closely, fearful about their security as Russia wages war in Ukraine, Trump continued: “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.

“Our armed forces will be free to focus on one sole mission – defeating America’s enemies.”

But he added that his “proudest legacy” would be that of peacemaker. “Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent and totally unpredictable.”

Trump did not provide further details about how he planned to build up the U.S. military.

He has previously openly suggested pulling the U.S. out of NATO, describing it as obsolete, and made headlines last February when he said he would let Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that did not meet the bloc’s defense spending guideline.

Trump also repeatedly said during his election campaign that he would broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow, without specifying how he would achieve that.

Many analysts have suggested he will pressure Ukraine into ceding territory to Russia in return for an end to the bloodshed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump ahead of his inauguration, saying he was ready to open talks with the new U.S. administration aimed at bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.

Putin welcomed reports that the White House would be looking to improve relations with the Kremlin.

"As for the resolution of the situation (in Ukraine) itself, I would like to emphasize that the goal should not be a brief ceasefire, not some kind of period of respite that would allow a regrouping and rearmament of forces, but a long-term peace," Putin added.

He also indicated that Moscow was ready to discuss nuclear arms control and wider security issues.