Following Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, otherwise known as Operation Barbarossa, a Soviet-American partnership was established with the goal of eradicating the axis of evil and establishing a new and stable world order. One of the foundations of this new global order was anchored in the fiery faith of then-U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt that the growing strength of the Soviet empire could be channeled toward moderation and restraint.
And yet, parallel to the efforts of the American president to incorporate the Soviet Union as a central and vital layer to the new international system, he, like his successor in the White House Harry Truman, sought to preserve the United States' strategic and diplomatic partnerships with its traditional allies, chief among them Britain.
Now, over 70 years since Roosevelt's dream first began to dissipate in the face of the escalating Cold War, the American superpower appears to be traveling back in time to those distant days of a great hope and of conferences in Tehran and Yalta that gave birth to illusions and ultimately resulted in disappointment.
Indeed, Monday's Helsinki summit was an attempt to outline a new world order with Trump's America and Putin's Russia at its center, determined to settle the dispute between them and lead the international arena through coordination and the division of labor. This is due to the White House's willingness to push aside the U.S.'s historic commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which it perceives as anachronistic.
And so, in contrast with his tense and crisis-laden trips to London and NATO headquarters in Brussels, Trump landed in Finland determined to lay the foundations for the "ultimate deal" with the Kremlin. And in accordance with this deal in the making, Putin will assist Washington in the war on Islamic State and al-Qaida terror, while at the same time work to prevent a dangerous escalation in Syria. On this front, Russia will act, among other things, to ensure Israel's security and secure its border on the Golan Heights.
From the White House's perspective, this is a double achievement; Moscow has not only committed to ensuring stability in a bloody region so rife with violence and tension, enabling the United States to safely complete its withdrawal from the land; but as part of this effort, Moscow will promote a key American interest in the Middle East by ensuring Israel's security. It is in this manner that Israel has become a central part of this global deal, at least some of the principles of which were set yesterday in Helsinki. In return, the U.S. appears willing to come to terms with Russia's annexation of Crimea and Moscow's underhanded opportunism in eastern Ukraine.
Trump's announcement at his joint press conference with Putin that the summit had significantly improved relations between the two sides is just one indication of his aspirations to establish a close relationship with the Putin regime. The same is true in regard to the issue of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, where Trump cleared Putin of all guilt and gave all of his actions his stamp of approval.
Against this backdrop, the Helsinki summit sends a clear message straight from the Oval Office that from Trump's perspective, the key to maintaining global order lies not in the West, but in the East.
