And the Winner Is… Putin

America risks being the big loser of Monday’s Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki.

During the Cold War, the United States conducted a policy of containment to counter Soviet influence. A quarter century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe now has to conduct a policy of containment not only against Vladimir Putin’s Russia but also against Donald Trump’s America. Before meeting the master of the Kremlin in Helsinki on Monday, the occupant of the White House continually railed against “his greatest allies” according to the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

However, nothing strengthens Putin like seeing a president of the United States weaken the Atlantic alliance. It’s the Russian president’s revenge against a military alliance that, in his eyes, represents a threat to his borders. And all this as the World Cup in Russia allowed him to restore his international image.

Trump Blasts Germany

Last week, Trump blasted Europeans, targeting the Germans in particular. Of course, in a last-minute about-face, he proclaimed his fondness for NATO. But his attacks destroyed a little more of Europe’s confidence, already shaken by the potential trade war with America.

And before going to Finland, he reiterated his little game by tackling Theresa May on Brexit before, again, doing an about-face. Of course, in front of Russia, he showed a so-called firmness by maintaining sanctions meant to punish Crimea’s annexation. But his contradictory positions play right into the Russian president’s hands.

Cold War Context

This is particularly true given that the American president is meeting his Russian counterpart while Russian intelligence agents have just been charged with interference in American politics. This led Trump not to denounce Russia, but to denounce the American justice system! Putin, for whom the fall of the USSR was “the worst geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century,” appears to find himself at the center of the game.

At the head of a weakened power whose wealth positions him far behind America and China, Putin was obligated by the World Cup to not only receive Emmanuel Macron in Moscow, but also Benjamin Netanyahu and soon Mahmoud Abbas. He has, along with Iran, made himself indispensable in Syria by protecting dictator Bashar Assad.

With or without interference, Trump’s mandate is an advantage for Russia. Putin will likely be the big winner of the Helsinki summit, just as Kim Jong Un was after his meeting with Trump.