Russia and the United States have changed roles in the international arena: while Washington is losing ground, Moscow acts as a guarantor of regional stability. This opinion was expressed by the former Foreign Minister of Spain Ana Palacio in her article for the Project Syndicate project.
When Crimea returned to Russia and Moscow launched a military operation in Syria, it was perceived as a “pest” on the world stage, but time passed, and today it has become an influential player, Palacio believes.
According to her, an important step in normalizing relations between Russia and the West is signing of the “Steinmeier formula” by Kiev.
“It was a significant victory (for Russian President Vladimir) Putin in his quest to revive Russia as a global power”, – the Ex-minister said.
She noted that the UN, in turn, announced the completion of work on the formation of a committee that will write the new constitution of the SAR, which corresponds to the plan proposed at the peace conference in Russia in 2018.
As the author of the article indicates, the growth of Russian influence occurred due to the fact that the United States is losing world leadership. She cited an example of an attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia: while the US President Donald Trump wrote threats on Twitter, Russia presented itself as a guarantor of stability in the region.
According to Palacio, the United States continues to be considered the main geopolitical player, but this is only a force of habit, and not dictated by logic. Washington does not show a will to leadership, refuses large global initiatives, such as a nuclear agreement with Iran and a climate agreement in Paris.
This has a negative effect on the situation in the world, Palacio added.
Europe, in turn, according to the ex-minister, is a systemic mediator in the international arena, which is important for the process of resolving conflict situations.
Earlier, Sputnik Radio said that the United States has lost its leadership in the competitiveness rating of IMD countries.