“The world capital of diplomacy,” writes ANSA, “is neither New York, where the UN is based, nor the White House in Washington.” It is Mar-a-Lago in Florida, which Donald Trump has chosen as his official residence. It is the beating heart of his administration, where policies are decided and secretaries are chosen. Trump purchased the prestigious property in 1985 and transformed it into a private club with 500 members, an admission fee of £1 million, and annual membership fees amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. Of all Trump’s residences, Mar-a-Lago best reflects his aesthetic taste: marble and gold dominate the opulent interiors where the president runs the United States and receives guests.”

In this opulent “world capital of diplomacy”, which has replaced the UN’s Glass Palace — now devoid of real functions and powers — and the White House itself, Trump met with Zelensky for another round of the “peace plan” charade. According to Trump Administration spokespeople, these are the central points of the plan.

• The United States, NATO and European signatory States will provide Ukraine with security guarantees mirroring Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.
• International forces will be deployed along the line of contact to monitor compliance with the agreement.
• Implementation of the Agreement will be overseen by a Peace Council chaired by Trump.
• The Ukrainian Armed Forces will have a peacetime strength of 800,000 personnel.
• Ukraine will become a member of the European Union and enjoy privileged access to the European market. It will also receive a substantial development package and conclude a free trade agreement with the United States. The aim is to mobilise $800 billion to help Ukraine realise its full potential.

Even if the Russian Federation were to obtain recognition of its sovereignty over Crimea and Donbass — territories inhabited by Russian populations who have been persecuted and attacked by Kiev — in any agreement, it would still be exposed to an even greater threat than that which provoked its armed intervention in Ukraine. NATO troops, disguised as “international forces monitoring the agreement”, would be deployed closer to Russian territory. Meanwhile, Ukraine — an instrument in the war that NATO has provoked and is waging against Russia — would effectively become a NATO member on the basis of ‘security guarantees reflecting Article 5 of the NATO Treaty’. This article stipulates that if an Alliance member is attacked (or claims to be attacked), all other members must go to war on its side.

This context includes the growing militarisation of European NATO countries, an alliance led by the United States, which controls all key commands, including that of Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Under pressure from the United States, particularly the Trump Administration, European NATO members first increased their military spending to 2% of GDP, committing to raise it to 3.5% (a target which is now almost complete), and then to 5%. This would mean doubling the military spending of European NATO countries to €770 billion per year. According to official NATO data, Italy’s annual military spending is set to rise to over €45 billion by 2025 — double the amount approved in the recent budget — equivalent to an average of €124 million per day.

Their profits are greatly increased by large arms manufacturers such as Italy’s Leonardo, Germany’s Rheinmetall and France’s Dassault. Small businesses are also involved in arms production: around 12,000 companies operate in the European Union’s military industry.

The militarisation of Europe is fuelled by a frenzied warmongering campaign.

“Russia remains a threat today, tomorrow and in the foreseeable future for the whole of Europe,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo declared at the first summit on “defending Europe’s eastern flank”, attended by the leaders of Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden: NATO members who present themselves simply as members of the EU.

At the same time, while reaching out to Putin and presenting himself as a peacemaker, President Trump ordered the deployment of Dark Eagle intermediate-range hypersonic nuclear attack missiles in Germany. These weapons can strike Moscow and even more distant targets in a matter of minutes. They are added to the new US B6 1-12 nuclear bombs that have also been deployed in Italy. Launched from the US base on the island of Guam, the same nuclear missiles can reach Beijing in minutes.

From the “world capital of diplomacy”, President Trump ordered an attack on Nigeria, officially to “protect Christians from ISIS”, but in reality, to regain a foothold in the Sahel — an area rich in precious raw materials — where the United States had two large military bases in Niger that were forced to close. He also ordered a military blockade and a series of attacks on Venezuela, a country formerly controlled by the United States and home to the world’s largest oil reserves.

In the same “world capital of diplomacy”, Trump received Netanyahu, assuring him that the United States was ready for new attacks against Iran and praising him with the following words:

“It took a very special man to accomplish this task and help Israel overcome this terrible situation. I am not concerned about anything Israel is doing.”

He thus gives the green light for the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people and plans to transform Gaza into a luxurious “Middle East Riviera” that could function as an extension of Mar-a-Lago.

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This article was originally published in Italian on Grandangolo, Byoblu TV.

Manlio Dinucci, award-winning author, geopolitical analyst and geographer, Pisa, Italy. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

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