Gestures of Friendship Diplomacy Highlight Real Potential For a New Paradigm Shift

An electric moment came yesterday at the White House Rose Garden, during the joint press conference by President Donald Trump and his guest, Polish President Andrzej Duda, who had met and signed two memoranda⁠—one on stationing 1,000 U.S. troops in Poland⁠—then spoke to the media. A reporter asked Duda, “Do you regard Russia as an ally or adversary?” When Duda was well into his response, stressing that Poland is “part of the West,” and that Russia is “showing its unkind, imperial face,” attacking Georgia and in 2014 attacking Ukraine, etc., Trump interrupted, stating forcefully, “I hope that Poland is going to have a great relationship with Russia. I hope we’re going to have a great relationship with Russia and, by the way, China and many other countries….” He spoke of meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon.

In fact, Trump’s intervention yesterday afternoon comes in the midst of a number of other notable gestures of nation-to-nation friendship in recent days. These passing, but serious expressions, added to initiatives of actual substance taking place in diplomacy at present, indicate the very real potential for forcing into being an historic shift in international relations, in which the United States begins to realign with the other Great Powers for collaboration on a new world credit and development system, and the Belt and Road Initiative. An important moment in this process is the June 28-29 G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan.

This week, heads of state are gathered in Central Asia for taking joint action on security and development. Today in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, national leaders arrived for the two-day sessions of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as President Xi Jinping. Various bilateral and trilateral meetings are planned or possible. Following this, comes the June 14-16 Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Xi, as is his custom wherever he makes a state visit, wrote an article published today for the people of Tajikistan, which is also the CICA host. He notes that Tajikistan was the very first nation to sign on to the BRI, and that the two nations’ relations go back 2,000 years.

Among other instances of positive diplomacy this week: President Trump has repeatedly praised “the beautiful letter” he received June 10 from D.P.R.K. Chairman Kim Jung Un. Speaking to White House media on June 11, before leaving for Iowa, Trump said: “I think that North Korea has tremendous potential, and he’ll be there. I think that North Korea, under his leadership ⁠— but North Korea, because of what it represents ⁠— the people are great, the land is great, the location is incredible between Russia, China, and South Korea ⁠— I think North Korea has tremendous potential. And the one that feels that more than anybody is Kim Jong Un. He gets it. He totally gets it.”

Trump, on the same occasion, praised Mexico. “Mexico is doing a great job at the border, really helping us. … They’ve been working very hard. We’re doing very well together. A good relationship. … I have a lot of respect for the President of Mexico, I have a lot of respect for the people we dealt with” in last week’s negotiations.

Most significantly, two meetings have occurred this week between U.S. and Russian officials, despite the intense atmosphere of demonization of Russia and attempted Trumpgate. Yesterday in Prague, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov “to build on the discussions held by Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Lavrov during their May 14 meeting in Sochi, Russia,” as the U.S. State Department reported. Yesterday at the State Department, Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov met with U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale, for closed-door talks. This was also done in October 2018.

Pehaps the clincher for knowing that the potential is great for leaving behind the old paradigm of monetarism and perpetual conflict is that the Royal Institute for International Affairs/Chatham House⁠—the official policy arm of the British geopolitical elite⁠—has come out with a Delphic call for a “New Bretton Woods Conference.” In the small print, they define this to mean discussing new “economic models,” such as ending economic growth because of the threat to the climate!

We can take heart and wisdom from the legacy of Lyndon LaRouche. As Helga Zepp-LaRouche said at his June 8 Memorial, these enemies will not prevail. “Lyn’s vision of a fully developed world becoming a reality in the form of the World Land-Bridge is now happening: Of a new form of international relations among nations, of a dialogue of Classical cultures replacing confrontation, and of the vision of an international cooperation of colonizing the Moon and a joint Mars mission.”