MICHAEL WALSH INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM: US President Donald Trump is habitually described as a businessman so more rationalist than idealist.

Fair enough but entrepreneurs tend to be visionaries too. This could explain the empathy between Donald Trump and Russia’s head of state.

Those who know President Vladimir Putin, and are aware of his weltanschauung know that from the beginning of his career in 1991 he has seen not the world as it is but the world as it could be.

Guided by his lode star Putin has a fixed view of a benign co-existing multilateral world. History suggests that he has been pressing the right buttons ever since.

My instincts are that pragmatically Donald Trump accepts that American hegemony is just another name for nostalgia.

Does this mean that the United States is destined to follow the British and Soviet Empires into the dustbin of history?

Far from it: sure, the world has become multilateral with no apparent hegemony but there is a pecking order. Trump, who likes grandstanding and isn’t averse to chutzpah believes that all are equal but some are more equal than others.

If you can’t fight them then join them. Under Trump’s leadership, the United States intends America to be first among equals.

To move on – and moving on is essential after what ​is anything but a Bore War – Trump appears to accept the Churchillian phrase: “Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war.”

Having tested the water in the Rubicon he is committed. And like Caesar, there is to be no turning back.  

​Before the telephones were lifted to start what was to become a marathon call between Putin and Donald Trump, the latter had already cast the dice in favor of diplomacy. Mediation is a language ​the multi-lingual Putin is fluent in.

The result of that 2.5-hour conversation has been much debated with much more to come.

No, Rome wasn’t built in a day but a small step for man was a big step for mankind. This was the outcome of that world-changing conversation between the American and Russian presidents.

A broadcaster on Channel Russia 1 described the dialogue as “The most important telephone conversation in the modern world.”

Being a race apart, visionaries see much further than most, especially the Western democracies’ lackluster political elite ​who are incapable of seeing beyond this week’s diary notes.

The thinking elite – we still have them – are worth listening to.

Typically, Konstantin Kosachev, vice speaker of the Russian Federation Council opined that the phone conversation “felt like a dialogue, not two separate monologues. Importantly, it wasn’t conducted via typical, ultimatum-style demands, “accept our terms or face the consequences.

“Russia refused to be baited into such rhetoric, and thankfully, the United States also avoided taking such a futile stance.”

A notable feature of this policy-changing call between the two heads of state was the exclusion of Kyiv, London and Brussels. This conspicuous omission reflects their diminished role in world affairs.

“If you’re not on our table you’re on the menu.” – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Irked at such dismissiveness British Premier Keir Starmer swiftly organized a meeting between Europe’s chattering classes. From the theatre’s wings, Europe’s scorned politicians sulked and responded by making headline-grabbing but facile policies.

What was Putin and Trump’s response to such infantile foot-stamping?  I was reminded of the comment made by US professional quarterback Joe Namath: “Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was SHUT UP.”

For its part, Kyiv ignored ‘the most important telephone conversation in the modern world,’ by continuing to tooth and claw fight Russia.

Perhaps more importantly, what world do these two world leaders or rather visionaries see that few others can imagine?

That the world is changing is to state the obvious but can we put the fear of World War III to the back of our minds?

THE BUSINESS BOOSTER Michael Walsh EURO WEEKLY NEWS business advice columnist. Perfect gift for the self-employed. https://books.by/michael-walsh#the-business-booster

“Russia has no desire to invade other European countries, US special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff said during a tête-à-tête with journalist Tucker Carlson. He dismissed such fears as “preposterous.”

“I restate a view I have long held. The military and economic downfall of a Washington/Wall Street abandoned European Union will be a political collapse.” ~ Michael Walsh.

We live in a world of power alliances and nothing will replace Europe’s 27-nation bloc. National sovereignty for most small nations is a thing of the past. 

Obliged by changing circumstances to adapt to realpolitik the nations making up the European Union will do as Trump is doing: they too will make friends with Russia.

The big question is, which of the power blocs will influence Europe’s future?

My money is on Russia but as the latter will have worked out a working relationship with Washington does this matter as much as it did yesterday?

This leaves just Ukraine to contemplate. As Dmitry Medvedev, Chairman of the Russian Security Council put it: “As a State, Ukraine will soon be known as ‘Error 404 Not Found.’ TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

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