What Can Come Out Of It?

The talk of Putin-Trump summit this year, likely in the White House, is being heard both in Russia and the US. I have a dual feeling about that. On one hand, it is really necessary, even if for PR purposes, to show that both presidents get along fine and, maybe, just maybe, reduce some tensions. On the other hand, the question is inevitable--how really free Donald Trump is in his foreign policy pursuits when what he has as a national security team, for the lack of better word, can only be described as unmitigated disaster? What he has in Congress in terms of foreign policy is altogether a collection of mostly ignorant war-mongers and Russophobes.

Donald Trump very well may have genuine human intents "to get along" with Russia (after kicking scores of Russian diplomats out of the US) but what are the real political mechanisms for that? I don't see any, except, as strange as it sounds--lines of communications between Russian and American militaries. Russian-American relations in most other, state-run, aspects are completely destroyed by the American side. Obviously, hysterical anti-Russian campaign by US media and Democratic Party establishment in collusion with RINOs and neocons did impede Trumps maneuvers but, it is now 15 months as he is POTUS and US foreign policy went from completely insane to being on a straight course to unleashing a war with Iran, with good chances of eventually Russian and US clashing. What that means, I do not even want to contemplate. 

In the end, Trump is surrounded by people who are not only utterly unqualified for any serious statesman position, nor are they capable of formulating working policies, but, by the looks of it they might be mentally unstable--looking at John Bolton or at Nikki Hailey one gets exactly this impression. US Russophobia reached such a fever pitch, such a crescendo now that the Congress of Russian Americans was forced to send an open letter to POTUS about discrimination and absolutely toxic atmosphere in the US in relation to Russia and Russians. While US media and their pundits bear a lion share of  responsibility for demonizing Russia and Russians, including those who are loyal US citizens (in the end Mr. Clapper gave his vision of Russians' faulty genetics), they also bear a lion share of responsibility for moving the world closer to a terminal confrontation. These are the media which give the stage to people who openly call for killing Russians. This is also the type of people who populate Trump's Administration today and that brings inevitable question to the fore--does Trump even have powers to formulate, set and guide US foreign policy? 

It was understandable that he was greatly limited in his maneuver during huge prominence of Russiagate, but now? Summit for what? Photo-Op? I don't think that Putin is interested in that. Russia (as represented by Vladimir Putin) is interested at this stage with only one thing--a smooth and as less confrontational as possible transition of the world to a new global order which is already here, it now must be formalized politically, economically, culturally. Russia is absolutely NOT interested in US declining to the point of complete irrelevance, in fact, Russia plays Count Gorchakov's long game:

"You know the sentiments of Russia. We desire above all things the maintenance of the American Union as one indivisible nation. We cannot take any part, more than we have done. We have no hostility to the Southern people. Russia has declared her position and will maintain it. There will be proposals of intervention [by Britain]. We believe that intervention could do no good at present. Proposals will be made to Russia to join some plan of interference. She will refuse any intervention of the kind. Russia will occupy the same ground as at the beginning of the struggle. You may rely upon it, she will not change. But we entreat you to settle the difficulty. I cannot express to you how profound an anxiety we feel--how serious are our fears (emphasis in original)."   

Although those times are gone, and there is no trust left in Russia to current US (and West in general), Russia and Russians know what war is and Russia, through Putin, will do everything to avert a disaster. But it will work better if there is at least some help from Trump. Can he deliver? The new global arrangement must be negotiated, in fact, Trump ran and won elections on this program--America desperately needs rethinking of herself in most aspects of activity of the American State and this needs to be done urgently to avert a disaster which American collapse may bring both to the world at large and to Americans themselves. Nobody wants American collapse. Arms Race? Russia is not going to attack the US unless is attacked first, sure, why not talk about arms race. But is Trump a player with some aces up his sleeve or is he now nothing more than a puppet at the disposal of the American exceptionalist cabal and financial fraudsters who support it? The record is not impressive so far, to put it mildly but hope springs eternal but we may as of yet start relying on who Colonel Wilkerson describes as a "Grand chess-master-in-chief" and his last hope.  Hell, come to think about it, Putin today is, indeed, the only man in the world who keeps it from sliding into abyss. As strange as it sounds, he might be the man who gives the United States a chance to survive and maybe turn into normal country. But that is the issue of geopolitical currency and it may require a separate book.  

UPDATE:  

An excellent input on the situation from M.K. Bhadrakumar--an Indian diplomat.