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Marathon talks in Minsk have finally rekindled hope for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine as four participating parties are involved in intense diplomacy to end the nearly one-year-old Ukraine crisis.
Under a peace deal hammered out on Thursday between leaders from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, guns will fall silent and a buffer zone will be created.
However, just as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "big hurdles" still remain despite "the glimmer of hope" seen in the Ukraine crisis.
Obviously, besides concerns over the fate of the unenforceable deal reached at the summit, the world is watching whether United States, another important player in the crisis, would make the road toward peace in Ukraine harder or easier.
Along with French President Francois Hollande, Merkel has taken great pains to mediate a political solution to the Ukraine crisis. They visited Kiev and Moscow to draw Ukrainian and Russian leaders to the negotiating table, which is also expected by all sides.
However, the German chancellor's trip to Washington earlier this week seemed to be tinged with embarrassment and bitterness.
On the issue of providing the Ukrainian forces with lethal weapons, which was strongly opposed by European countries, U.S. President Barack Obama said that it had not been decided yet whether Washington would do that.
Meanwhile, Obama warned that a collapse in the peace process could push Washington into approving deliveries of weapons to Ukraine. And what's worse, there are more hawkish voices in the United States that Merkel's effort is naive.
On the European side, they spared no efforts to contact with Russia for peacefully resolving the Ukraine crisis in the right path, and on the U.S. side, they intended to fuel the conflict in the East European country.
Why are Europe and the United States, the traditional Western allies, particularly divisive on the issue now? The answer is they have different stakes.
If the Ukraine crisis persists and deteriorates and a new round of "Cold War" breaks out as some have feared, the United States would be the only one poised to gain while anyone else would be doomed to lose.
First of all, it is improbable that the flames raging in Ukraine may spill over the Atlantic Ocean and finally into the U.S. territory. But it is more likely the potential full outbreak of a war might engulf both Europe and Russia should they were left unchecked.
That is why Washington can afford to offer lethal-weaponry for war-torn Ukraine, but other players having direct stakes in the region, like Europe and Russia, simply cannot.
But the United States appears to forget that things have changed now. Peace and development, instead of war and confrontation, have become the main theme in current international politics.
As an English saying goes: "Better late than never." It is high time for the United States, the world's most sole superpower, to bear its due responsibility for the global peace and actively contribute to resolving the Ukraine crisis, which will also bring hope to its European allies. Enditem
