As Russia’s Ukraine invasion completes three years on Monday, the US also seems to have changed track on Kyiv’s Nato membership. Washington has also preferred to discuss Kyiv with Moscow directly and without addressing the concerns of Europe. Parallelly, the French are hosting a conference next week to discuss potential security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe’s defence priorities. All this suggests that structural shifts may be on the anvil in the trans-Atlantic alliance that defined the security paradigm in Western Europe Since World War II and through the Cold War era.

The repercussions of an inward-looking transactional America unwilling to carry the security burden of Europe and ready to do business with Putin’s Moscow will immediately impact Kyiv, but its consequences are likely to resonate across the continent and reshape global power relations. Washington’s pivot towards Moscow could be a part of its tactic to contain the Russia-China axis and allow it to deal with Beijing, which it sees as the primary rival, in isolation.

So, has the world reached an inflection point in which the old order is set to change, and bilateral relations are privileged over multi-lateral alliances? For sure, a multi-polar world is likely to benefit emerging powers like India, which can engage with the world on its terms – but it will require some deft manoeuvring.