Russo-US thaw

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Russia and the United States did some necessary diplomatic-correction by restoring their respective missions back to full strength, in an earnest understanding to work out a thaw over Ukraine. The deal was materialised in Riyadh with a tactical consensus to keep intricate details in clouds, as they move on to rework their once estranged relationship to new vistas of cooperation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, nonetheless, were seen preparing ground for a likely summit of leadership as Europe kept its fingers crossed in utter surprise over the speed of rapprochement between the conventional adversaries. The fact that the Diriyah Palace in Saudi Arabia is the theatre of talks has sent some right vibes hinting at the nod from Middle East's most-powerful man, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for a patch-up in the making.

Donald Trump's initiative to reach out to Vladimir Putin has literally led to the end of Russia's isolation. Moscow had faced the music since its invasion of Crimea and later the aggression on Ukraine with crippling Western sanctions. The change of heart at White House has now put the American allies in a quandary as they are unsure of what would transcribe from the talks, with Kiev already in the woods. A disappointed France has called for an emergency meeting of allies in Paris in a bizarre attempt to pressurise Washington to turn lenient on Ukraine. With Trump having laid bare his conditions for Europe to dig deep into their pockets, if they want to resuscitate NATO and erect a proactive defence strategy, there is an emerging policy mismatch between the US and the EU.

Trump's landmark policy shift towards the Kremlin and, likewise, Beijing indicates his desire for a new world order sans conventional warfare. Rubio and Lavrov have set the ball rolling by saying that "incredible opportunities" are there and "hopefully will be good for the world too…". And now with Ukraine excluded from being a direct party to the talks in Riyadh, the sovereign rights of the war-stricken country are up for a toss.