During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised that the US would withdraw from world conflicts. But in recent weeks, we have witnessed diametrically opposed processes: first a missile attack on Syria and as a result an "ice blow" in US-Russian relations, then a confrontation with the DPRK. At first glance, Trump has finally formed international guidelines, adopting the concept of classical Republicans. In it, the States are given the role of a tough and irreconcilable world policeman, who pacifies hooligans.

But the American-Russian historian, publicist and co-author of the sensational book "The FSB is blowing up Russia" Yuri Felshtinsky is of a different opinion, warning about Trump's play on the Moscow field. In an interview with the "Observer" he explained why one should not believe in the indicative "tussle" of the US and Russian presidents.

- Western media report that Rex Tillerson during his visit to Moscow offered the Russian leadership a plan for the settlement of the situation in Syria: the destruction of IGIL, stabilization in all regions during the transition period, after which Bashar Assad will leave his post. In the Kremlin it is denied, but it does not mean anything. How do you assess the likelihood of such and such an agreement being concluded?.

- There is no one to negotiate with Syria. This is the main problem of both Syria itself and the international community. Syria as a state ceased to exist. Assad will not retire, as Hussein did not go away, preferring the death and ruin of the country. All these people (dictators) are finished egocentrs. They believe that their feelings and emotions are more important than the lives of millions of people.

Russian intervention in the Syrian war is a continuation of the policy of seizing Eastern Europe by other methods. I want to recall that Russian troops were introduced to Syria on September 30, 2015 on the basis of a treaty signed with Syria by the Soviet government.

Everybody expected that Putin would continue his offensive in Ukraine, Belarus, and maybe even the Baltic states. But Russia blocked the invasion of Eastern Europe, because by September 2015 it became obvious that the expansion of the military conflict in Europe would lead to serious human losses, since after the bloodless surrender of the Crimea, Ukraine began to provide resistance to the aggressors in the East, and to strengthen sanctions Against Russia, and who knows, maybe even a war with NATO. With Putin, Putin was not ready to fight in 2015. Therefore, he decided to open a new front - in Syria, then to make himself a full participant in negotiations with the US on the settlement of the Syrian conflict in exchange for an agreement on the surrender of America to Eastern Europe in the sphere of Russian influence.

Tillerson, in fact, is now trying to implement this program, explaining to the world community that Russia needs to settle the conflict in Syria, because this conflict because of problems with international terrorism and refugees is the most important conflict for the US from the current. About the same thing says Trump: Russia is needed for the settlement of the Syrian conflict.

Meanwhile, of course, Russia does not need any of us to settle the Syrian conflict, because Russia is the main troublemaker in this region. In general, with regard to the entire Western world, including the United States, Russia is engaged in exclusively subversive activities, including, first of all, in Syria. So Tillerson and Trump deliberately mislead us in this matter.

Tillerson is not an independent person, and he does not have any plans in his head. His candidacy for the post of secretary of state was proposed to Trump by the Kremlin. Tillerson was indeed the most pro-Putin (precisely pro-Putin, and not pro-Russian) candidate for this position. His entire career in Exon, he was obliged to Putin. He talked a lot with him personally, and with FSB Igor Sechin (a protege and trusted Putin). And rewarding Tillerson with the Order of Friendship is not an accident, but a pattern. Moreover, the rewarding was agreed in advance with Tillerson.

Trump long fooled the American public with the candidacies of Giuliani and Romney for the post of Secretary of State, between whom he, he said, chose the most worthy candidate. And in the end he slipped for approval the Senate Tillerson, whom Putin, of course, legitimately considers his person or even his agent.

- In view of this, is there still a risk of a "package deal" between the US and Russia, which will affect both Syria and Ukraine?.

- If you paid attention, during his visit to Moscow in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements, Tillerson spoke mainly about the fact that Russia should use its influence on separatists to withdraw heavy weapons from the conflict zone and fulfill the terms of the Minsk agreements. The Minsk agreements (I have repeatedly said and written about this) - a trap for idiots. They were drawn up in Russia, they signed in a difficult period for Ukraine, when it was not clear whether Moscow intended to start a full-scale war; When tens of thousands of Russian troops were concentrated on the border; When Germany was pressed against Ukraine by France and the United States. Of course, the Minsk agreements for Europe became the second "Munich agreement" (1938) and the classic pacification of the aggressor. Nevertheless, the Minsk agreements slowed down the big war, and from the point of view of the West, and perhaps even from the point of view of Ukraine, its function at that moment was fulfilled. But for Russia, the Minsk Agreements are an excuse for the constant bloodletting of Ukraine, both politically and physically.

One must be a very dishonorable person in order to insist on observing the Minsk agreements in the current conditions, knowing full well that Russia interprets them as they want, that these agreements do not mention the occupation of the Crimea, and that the Russian Federation is not at all belligerent in these agreements, although It is she who fights in Ukraine under the flag of "separatists".

The most tough word that Tillerson chose to apply to the annexation of the Crimea and the military operations of Russia in Eastern Ukraine, which killed at least 10-15 thousand people, is in the center of Europe in the 21st century! - "Russia's actions". What are these actions, when it is an open aggression!.

Will Trump and Tillerson sell to Americans and Europeans Putin's readiness to surrender Assad in exchange for carte blanche in Ukraine, the big question. I think that they will not be able to do that Syria alone is not enough, especially since the world in Syria under Assad is an illusion, and without Assad Syria will still not be able to remain intact. At least part of its territory should be formed Kurdistan, and I think we will still witness the creation of this independent state.

- In your opinion, is it likely that the US missile strike on Assad's positions was agreed with Moscow? Is it possible that this was Trump's trick, in order to protect himself from the investigation?.

- At the decision-making level, the blow, of course, was not agreed upon. But Russia was informed in advance that the blow was being inflicted and it was necessary to immediately withdraw from the base all Russian - and living force and equipment. This is not hidden today either in Washington or in Moscow. For Trump, the blow to Syria was also a distracting maneuver, which for a time shifted the attention of the American press and the public from the topic of Russian ties of Trump to Syria.

It can be assumed that Russia asked Assad to use chemical weapons to again prikor attention to Syria and thus once again somewhat help Trump. Another thing is that the discussion of the topic of the use of chemical weapons by Asad resulted in the discussion and condemnation of Russian intervention in the Syrian conflict and even accusations of the Russian Federation that it participated in a chemical attack by the Syrian Air Force. So the trick, if it existed, failed.

- Do not you think that the Kremlin is trying to shake the US with Trump's help, and not achieve an American-Russian reset? And can Trump lead to an intra-American explosion?.

- I think that the operation of the Trojan Horse Troop to bring Trump to the White House (I, of course, do not know what the operation was called, but it will be funny if I guessed it) originally implied the infliction of damage to Hillary Clinton, whom Putin took revenge for and Support for the protest movement in Russia, and for comparing it with Hitler after the invasion of Ukraine. In addition, Putin tried to kindle another conflict, now on American soil, making the greatest possible chaos in the American elections. He once again tried to attract attention and speak with the US administration from a position of strength.

Only at a later stage, when it became clear that Trump really had a chance to win, all the resources available to the Kremlin were thrown on the scales. And it seems that the Kremlin has achieved its goal: it helped Trump become president. But along the way, numerous Russian agents were exposed, and today it is clear to everyone in America that Russia's interference in the American elections on Trump's part took place. Because of this, the brilliant seemingly victory of Putin and the FSB essentially turned into a defeat. Trump's hands are tied, and he can not fulfill any pre-election commitments with regard to Russia: neither to dissolve NATO, nor to lift sanctions, nor to recognize Crimea's occupation. This can not lead to an intra-American explosion. This can, under certain conditions, lead to the resignation of Trump.

"Whatever it was, Donald Trump is pursuing a policy that could seriously crash oil prices. Plus - he advocates the modernization of the American army and the strengthening of nuclear capabilities that can launch an arms race. Is this beneficial to Russia, given its economic situation?.

"I think that we can not imagine how furious and irritated Putin is now because of everything that happens to Trump and to Russian-American relations. Imagine: the operation ended in tremendous success, the presidential candidate was the Kremlin candidate. But just because it is becoming more and more obvious, Trump is paralyzed. At least for now.

The increase in army spending is due to the redistribution of budget funds, and no one said that this will lead to the end of the road to the modernization of the US Army. It's too early to say this. Trump makes many high-profile statements, but they can not be trusted. They are more and more perceived with a smile or even a grin.

The interests of Russia and Putin are generally incompatible. Putin's strategic tasks: to dissolve or weaken NATO, to destroy the European Union, to bring to the power in Europe the maximum number of radical ultra-right politicians, to create new hotbeds of war and to maximally expand the territory of the Russian Federation, recreating something between the Russian Empire and the USSR under the leadership of the FSB. I doubt that any of this in the interests of Russia, if by Russia mean a civilized European state.

As for oil prices, they are high when peace and prosperity reign on the earth, and not when all are immersed in military conflicts. Putin does not understand this. He believes that the dependence is inverse. Whenever oil rises above $ 100 a barrel, it uses the earned money to invade a neighboring state, in the hope that oil will rise in price even more because of the threat of a big war. And she only falls after the war begins. In 2008, Putin himself collapsed oil prices by invading Georgia. In 2014, Putin again crashed oil prices by invasion of Ukraine. While the war is on, prices can not rise. But Putin, I repeat, does not understand this. So, in this sense, Putin does not act in the interests of Russia and the Russian people.

- In one of the interviews you said that a confrontation with the DPRK could be a distracting Trump maneuver. But to play such a game with Pyongyang is like juggling a grenade. Do you think Trump will still decide on a military confrontation with North Korea?.

- You are right - to juggle. Only not a grenade, but an atomic bomb. I think that the US blow to North Korea is Putin's main hope, the only condition under which he will be able to implement the planned geopolitical program to seize the territories. Because here, Putin will be able to exchange Eastern Europe for peace in Syria (there will never be peace there), and non-intervention in the Korean War. There is something to ponder on. Moreover, there is also a reserve option: a blow to Iran.

Of course, most of all we would like to see the communist dictatorship collapse in the DPRK and the two Koreas to unite according to the German model. But in Germany the union was peaceful. But in Korea it can happen otherwise. What price for all this has to be paid, it is impossible to calculate now. If the blow to North Korea is painless for everyone else, it is clear that this will be a good diversion for Trump, and, moreover, will lead to an increase in his popularity. But the DPRK is not Syria and not even Iraq. Everything will be more complicated.

- When Trump won the election, he promised that the US is abstracted from world conflicts. Are we not observing the diametrically opposite process now?.

- Diametrically opposite. But not because Trump changed his point of view or does not try to fulfill the promises Putin gave before the election campaign began, but because political realities can not be adjusted to the rhetoric of Trump. He believes, maybe even sincerely, that the country or the world can be controlled via Twitter. In fact, because of words, slogans and even because of the executive decrees signed by him, nothing changes. He could not cancel Obama's medical program; Restrictions on the arrival of Muslims in the US are blocked by the courts; Mexico refused to pay for the construction of the wall; Economic sanctions against China were not introduced; "An obsolete NATO," which was previously supposed to be dissolved, now has to be supported. In addition, Trump as an excuse for the dissolution of NATO used accusations that the participating countries do not pay the budget of 2% of GDP. As a result, the financial condition of NATO has only improved, although Trump's initial goal was to dissolve the alliance.

Syria did not turn out well enough:

as soon as Tillerson made a loud statement that the fate of Assad would be decided by the Syrian people (it's like saying in the 1930s that the fate of Stalin, Hitler or Mussolini will be decided respectively by the peoples of the USSR, Germany and Italy) , As Assad joked with chemical weapons, and had to "respond" and speeches to the UN, and launches of cruise missiles. So Trump does not manage much now in America. Outside of slogans, he has no strategy. And pre-election slogans were impossible to realize, because they were initially demagogic and were not intended for implementation.

As reported by the "Observer", in the US they found out who became the most generous sponsor of the inauguration of Trump.

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