The long-anticipated phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump has finally taken place, marking a shift in global power.

But before anyone gets carried away with triumph or despair, it’s worth recognizing what has actually happened: Russian-US relations have simply returned to their natural state – one of strategic rivalry, conflicting interests, and fundamental differences in worldview.

For decades, the USA pursued a fantasy – one where it could reshape Russia in its own image, first through incentives and later through coercion.

Washington DC believed it could mold Moscow into a compliant partner within the ‘liberal international order’, an illusion that only collapsed when reality hit: Russia was never going to be remade.

Meanwhile, Moscow spent years trying to find common ground, adjusting its own policies in hopes of reaching a workable coexistence. That experiment, too, ended a decade ago.

The dissolution of the Cold War system in the late 1980’s was a historical anomaly, a fluke that many mistook for a permanent transformation. The Western narrative of ‘victory’ was premature – history does not end, it evolves.

Over time, the illusion of a uni-polar world became harder to sustain, and the global balance of power began shifting.

Those who benefited from the old order clung to it desperately, while those who felt shortchanged pushed back harder. Ukraine became the unfortunate fault line in this struggle, the battleground of irreconcilable visions.

What is happening now is not the beginning of a new era but the inevitable correction of an old one. The USA, even under Trump’s presidency, has recognized that great power rivalry is once again the defining feature of international politics.

But unlike previous decades, when ideological battles masked geopolitical interests, the new competition is more pragmatic, stripped of the pretense of universal values. The liberal world order is no longer a guiding principle – it is a relic of the past.

This shift does not guarantee peace, nor does it eliminate the risks of confrontation. But it does bring a certain rationality back into the equation.

The West’s ideological zeal, which often led it to take reckless, counterproductive actions, is giving way to a more sober assessment of power and interests. The focus is no longer on forcing one side to submit, but on negotiating tangible advantages.

Russia, meanwhile, is positioned as a key player in shaping this new world order. The strategic fantasies of the 1990’s have been replaced with a hard-nosed realism that acknowledges the limits of Western power.

The reset to ‘factory settings’ does not mean stability – it means a return to the fundamentals of global politics, where strength, influence, and calculated diplomacy dictate the course of history.

RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2025.

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Zionism is Terrorism
Zionism is Terrorism
Member
February 15, 2025 10:11

Those who benefited from the old order clung to it desperately, while those who felt shortchanged pushed back harder. Ukraine became the unfortunate fault line in this struggle, the battleground of irreconcilable visions.

J.J. Hang-Netanyahu
J.J. Hang-Netanyahu
Member
Reply to  Zionism is Terrorism
February 15, 2025 10:28

Really, the French and English still have colonies. Here is a list, not complete. French Guiana (France) Guadeloupe (France) Martinique (France) Mayotte (France) Réunion (France) French Polynesia (France) New Caledonia (France) Wallis and Futuna (France) Saint Martin (France) Saint Barthélemy (France) Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France) Aruba (Netherlands) Curaçao (Netherlands) Sint Maarten (Netherlands) Bonaire (Netherlands) Saba (Netherlands) Sint Eustatius (Netherlands) British Virgin Islands (United Kingdom) Cayman Islands (United Kingdom) Gibraltar (United Kingdom) Anguilla (United Kingdom) Bermuda (United Kingdom) Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom) Montserrat (United Kingdom) Pitcairn Islands (United Kingdom) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom)… Read more »

NonYank
NonYank
Member
February 15, 2025 10:26

For me as an African, the biggest evil is Neo-colonialism which hasn’t gone anywhere, decades after what was supposed to be our emancipation..

Division Bell
Division Bell
Member
February 15, 2025 10:32

Ukraine may have accidentally shot down one of its own F-16 fighter jets due to the Biden administration’s decision to withhold critical coordination technology, according to a column by a member of The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board on Friday.