From one point of view, the Russian action in Ukraine represents a decisive turn
away from the hostile West to the more dynamic East and the Global South.
This follows decades of importuning the West for a peaceful relationship since
the Cold War’s end. As Russia makes its Pivot to the East, it is doing its best to
ensure that its Western border with Ukraine is secured.
Following the Russian action in Ukraine, the inevitable U.S. sanctions poured onto
Russia. China refused to join them and refused to condemn Russia. This was
no surprise; after all Putin’s Russia and Xi’s China had been drawing ever closer
for years, most notably with trade denominated in ruble-renminbi exchange,
thus moving toward independence from the West’s dollar dominated trade regime.
