The Deep Roots of the Ukraine Crisis

After more than a year of conflict, the causes of the Ukrainian crisis remain bitterly contested. As analysts and power brokers on both sides argue vehemently in favor of their own interpretations of recent events, one essential point is often overlooked: The conflict is rooted in decisions made long before any fighting broke out. To fully understand what provoked one of the gravest geopolitical crises of our time—a necessary first step if we hope to pull back from the brink of a profound disaster—we must regard it as an outgrowth of two events that helped shape the course of the 20th century. The Yalta Conference in February 1945 and the Malta Summit in 1989 are either long forgotten or poorly understood by many in the West, but both meetings continue to resonate today. Though they were quite different in substance and historical context, both sought (and ultimately failed) to produce a more stable European security order. The Ukrainian crisis is only the latest symptom of the long-term failure to reconcile the various interests on the European continent.