Washington -Moscow negotiations that started yesterday in Saudi Arabia are odd, to say the least. These offline discussions in Riyadh are high level foreign Ministries and presidential advisors of US and Russia are involved. These talks focus on Ukraine fate, and the future of European security. Yet, neither Ukraine nor EU or any of its member states are present at, or in any other way are part of these so far purely bilateral face to face meetings.
    There are other oddities. A Ukraine delegation lead by First Deputy PM Yulia Svyrydenko    met with Saudi officials in Riyadh on February 16 to prepare for a Zelensky’s  visit. Zelensky’s plan visit to  UAE and Turkey but has put of his Saudi Arabia tour. Ukraine’s President and government officials are thus are  close by to American and Russian negotiators  in Riyadh-but not in Riyadh.
    The absurdity of this situation illustrates the depth of change the international order is going through. Putin’s and Trump’s approach to Ukraine are not manifestations of a new multipolar World. They do not display the pluralism required by a multipolar approach to International Security. Instead, the signal are return to principal of the Yalta system established in WWII’s last months. The Yalta talks were held exactly 80 years ago in February 1945.
    The idea of ‘might is right’ that stood strong in 1945 seems to be back again driving a division of Continental Europe by outside powers. During WWII, in talks at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam, Washington handed Moscow far more European territory than Russia had received before WWII from Germany.
     In the 1939 Molotov- Ribbentrop pact between USSR and Nazi Germany, Stalin had secured from Hitler Soviet control over some east -Central European Nations  including Poland and Baltic States. Yet, in 1945 US left all of eastern Europe to soviet imperialism and enforced Russification ,State terrorism and colonial exploitation.
      Stalin made his disrespect for principals of 1945 new international system evident when he made Soviet Republic of Ukraine and Belarus founding members of UN.
      After the German Empire’s collapse in 1945, other European Empires also lost their colonies over the decades. In 1989-91, finally ,or so it appeared, Russian empire, and its soviet Avtar, came to it end. In 1991, Nations seeking to break free from Soviet control declared their independence . Following this the republics within the Soviet unions “inner Empire” also gained formal independence.
       But Moscow’s post- 1945  mockery  of international law and multi- polarity continued on a smaller scale. Without Dew process of application and accession to UN- as Serbia did after Yugoslavia broke up -Russia became a permanent member of UNSC, whose statute still mentions only USSR.
      After 1991,both US and western Europe adopted a Russia first policy, in which interest of Russia’s former colonies stood secondary to those of Moscow. This odd policy- that even included a temporary enlargement of G7 to make a G8 group with Russia- confirmed, in Kremlin’s interpretation, Moscow ‘s continued status as world and imperial power.
    The most scandalous expression of the West’s self- defeating approach was the (eventually abortive) Russo- German Nord stream-2  gas pipeline project launched after, and despite, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and covert military intervention in Eastern Ukraine in 2014.
    Germany and other West European countries finally reverse their earlier Russia first approach in 2022. Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia although all suffer from illegal partial occupation by Russia became candidates for EU  membership.
     US is reversing both its earlier Liberationist approach to Eastern Europe and its active help for Russia’s former colonies who desired to exit Moscow’s new Imperial Orbit.
     At least rhetorically, the Trump administration seems to be returning to a Yalta type of approach in which voices of smaller states are given less attention. And approach in which Ukraine’s participation in negotiations about its fate is not necessary.
   Global South countries, like India, need to be wary of this trend in US for in policy. Trump maybe signaling how he will treat countries he deems less important or those that don’t directly serve US interest. This is not multipolarity- Trump has already shown his disdain for Bricks. It is about the powerful doing what they please. China therefore holds greater leverage in this scheme.
     Further the bilateral over Ukraine is happening in contradiction to Washington’s assurances  to Kyiv  in 1994 in the now infamous Budapest Memorandum in which Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons. Trump’s approach to Ukraine is also in conflict with 2008 Declaration in which President Bush scooped out the possibility of NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. Time will show how far this American Reversal of course will go. 

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