Its no secret that US President Donald Trump has always sought warm ties with Russia. He's repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin despite US intelligence agencies pointing to Moscow's interference in the 2016 US election.

In their recent meeting at the G-20 summit in Japan, the two leaders made light of these allegations, saying that they will focus instead on expanding bilateral political and economic ties and will begin consultations on nuclear arms control.

Meanwhile here in Washington the Pentagon says the US is underestimating the scope of Russia's global rise. In a new study, the US Department of Defense warns that the US is ill-equipped to counter what it calls Russia's ' increasingly brazen political warfare across Europe, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America"", urging the United States to step up its game.

So, Donald Trump set the stage for Russia's return and the revival of a multipolar world order?

Guests:

James Woolsey

Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency or CIA from 1993-1995.

James Carden

Contributing writer at The Nation magazine. and a former adviser on Russia policy at the US State Department.

Matthew Kroenig

Deputy director at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and author of "The Return of Great Power Rivalry: Democracy versus Autocracy from the Ancient World to the United States, Russia, and China Today"