To speak with Russia in an authoritative way needed a stronger America. Especially after the first three months of Trump, cornered by the hawks of the Deep State and forced to slow progress with Moscow, on whose maturation the end of the Obama era had bode well.
But diplomacy has language and timing different from those of ordinary mortals. Roses bloom when it's season; meanwhile it takes patience and method.
Secretary of State Tillerson, leaves the G7 to go to Moscow. In parallel also the President of the Republic Mattarella is in Russia, for an official visit of three days. The two things are not random.
Let's go by degrees.
Tillerson before meeting his counterpart Lavrov, expressed the US position regarding possible agreements with Russia:
"Other chemical attacks in Syria will not be permitted (in all likelihood it is not Assad the manager, nda) and the priority of the US is to defeat the Islamic State ".
Apparently the speech appears schizophrenic: what is the point of the missiles against Assad if Assad is fighting ISIS?
Actually Tillerson adds that Assad's time is running out, changing the US position to 180 compared to just ten days ago. In practice, if Putin wants to make a deal with Trump he will have to choose: either Damascus or Washington.
At a first reading this would suggest that the anti-Assad rebels funded for years by the US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are still politically credible today despite loyalist victories. How can we think of building a future with Islamic fundamentalist groups like Hayyat Tahir al Sham (Movement for the Liberation of the Levant), Tillerson, however, did not specify it.
Let's go back to what was said above.
The US urgently needed to present itself to Putin with the right authority. The engineer Tillerson, although far from being naive, did not have much diplomatic experience and, to avoid being chewed in the Machiavellian rooms of the Kremlin, he needed a business card and above all a big voice.
From this point of view, the apparent contradiction of the missile attack at the base of Al Sharyat in Syria is better read. There are many elements that suggest the double political purpose of Trump's move. Among these are the absolute military inconsistency of the action (only 23 missiles on 59 and new base operational after less than 12 hours) and the lack of Russian personnel, usually present in the Syrian strategic infrastructures.
We will never know if Moscow knew in advance of the American attack. What we can affirm with certainty, however, is that the US still had to show itself as the unilateral superpower of all time and that a strong Trump is also convenient to Putin. 
Raising the tone had an important reflection on the American domestic front, throwing water on the high flames of the Russiagate. In foreign policy and in the special bilateral relations that the United States intends to promote with Russia, it allows the US to raise the price of future compromises.
Logically, given the political investments made in Syria, Putin will not discharge Assad. THE'ultimatum American therefore serves to obtain more on the negotiating table and on other scenarios.
In all likelihood the game moves to the Pacific, the scene of the real clash of the 21st century, the one between the United States and China. Just as the spotlights in Syria went out, the naval crew of the aircraft carrier Vinson has set its course on Korea and the tone between Washington and Pyongyang has started to rise.
Online Defense was the first newspaper to report in these days the new crisis theater, which is not new at all. Periodic temperature spikes are systematic in the parallel 38 ° (see article). Never before, however, had the language of the White House been followed by a specific military threat against North Korea.
There will be no atomic war. Pyongyang is the indirect goal of the USA, which in reality aim at China and in particular at dividing Beijing from Moscow.
The two former enemy giants have never been so close in strategic terms.
After the big gas supply agreement signed in Shanghai in 2014, the trade between Russia and China reached 100 billions of dollars and is destined to double by 5 years. The creation of the New Development Bank as an alternative to the "American" World Bank is the result of the collaboration between Moscow and Beijing, which also work together on the project for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The examples of the birth of a strategic Eurasian political bloc also including the former Soviet spaces are innumerable in all sectors: energy, finance, infrastructure, technology, industry and obviously defense (just think that China could become the first global user of S systems 400) ...
Based on Kissinger's fears, the US knows this and tries not to stay out of the game. The only possible way is to raise, making the military instrument weigh where possible.
In essence, the United States clearly needs to approach Russia, but they pretend to do so on their terms.
In this scheme, Italy's role could (for once ...) not be secondary.
Mattarella's visit to Moscow in this sense has a great symbolic impact. The wall raised by the European Union against Russia does not affect bilateral relations between Moscow and Rome, which remain good. Although the dimension of Italian foreign policy remains ephebic, Italy enjoys a lucky star in Russia. In addition to a long tradition of mutual esteem and friendship, the fact that Italy has never appeared among the ultras of economic sanctions and political ostracism against Moscow weighs heavily. Indeed, we were among the promoters of a constructive dialogue (for once we can say so, ed.) Even when the plethora of the most avid atlantists forced us to follow the russophobic wave.
Our proverbial diplomatic bivalence and the pitiful state of bilateral trade have come our way.
It should be remembered that due to the sanctions desired by the EU in the 2016 the import-export between Italy and Russia has dropped by almost 40% compared to the 2015 with incalculable damages for Italian companies.
An anonymous, mischievous voice long ago said: "Putin can only trust us, for the simple fact that not even our allies ever really trusted ..."
Rome could be the tread for a future turnaround in relations between the West and Russia. In this respect it is not causal that Mattarella is in Moscow in conjunction with the G7 and with Tillerson's journey. The Syrian question and indirectly relations with Russia are on the table of the largest political forum in the world. In order for the G7 to return G8, we need mediators and good intentions.
(photo: Quirinale / web / DoD)
