ROME, July 7. /TASS/. European leaders are out of their league trying to play with big powers Russia, the United States, and China on the international stage, Italian General Fabio Mini said in an article for the Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper.

"As a result, the leaders of France, the UK, and Germany, as well as the leaderships of NATO and the EU, are proving impotent at the international level," the general writes.

He noted that reports on the phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump did not mention Putin’s earlier contact with French head of state Emmanuel Macron, "who tried to precede Trump to claim credit for a possible agreement."

"Macron and the whole of Europe were ignored, making it clear that they should not interfere in ‘power’ relations. This applies to everyone, especially the so-called paramilitary wishful thinkers," the article continues. "In the shadow of the United States, Russia, and China, Macron and company have little significance," Mini concluded.

Putin and Trump spoke by phone on July 3. It was their fourth conversation in a month and a half and their sixth since the beginning of the year, according to TASS estimates. Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that the call lasted almost an hour. The two leaders discussed the settlement in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. In addition, they talked about the possibility of exchanging movies promoting traditional values shared by Russia and the US presidential administration.