Ekaterina Zolotova
The reports surrounding the Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia held between the United States and Russia – but not Ukraine – suggest a reconciliation is underway. On Feb. 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and the U.S. have “started to move away from the brink of collapse” and that their bilateral relations now have a “positive atmosphere.” He praised U.S. President Donald Trump for being the first Western leader to understand Moscow’s position on Ukraine and NATO. Later, Washington condemned the use of the word “aggressor” in a G7 communique to describe Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Yet the road to true U.S.-Russia reconciliation, let alone to a lasting peace in Ukraine, is still a long way off. Commenting on the Saudi summit, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov seemed to agree, saying that despite this first step in restoring relations, the meeting alone fails to guarantee a positive outcome.
This is partly a reflection of how Russia views the context in which the talks are taking place. Traditionally, Russia’s concept of the West was more about Europe – even the parts that often go overlooked by most Americans – than it was about the United States. Their relationship was often adversarial. But after the Soviet Union fell and the European Union emerged, Europe began to see the places vacated by the Soviets as opportunities for growth, and thus they became a more immediate military threat – or so the thinking in Moscow goes. Russian strategy, then, was oriented to the west of its borders. The U.S. embroilment in this strategy is due to its alliance with Europe. The war in Ukraine stems from this long-term standoff: Russia could not live side by side with the growing anti-Russian government in Ukraine, and it could not tolerate EU and U.S. support of Kyiv in the war.
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