A year ago Crimea became a part of Russia, causing a long stand-off between Moscow and the west. The conflict over Ukraine is a belated salvo of the cold war, provoked on both sides: by the euphoria of the west, which viewed its success in the confrontation of the late 20th century as proof of its moral and political supremacy, and by Russia’s desire to take revenge for its dramatic fall from the height of a superpower to barely short of a second-grade crippled state.

The Ukraine crisis is a play-off of the old game. But in a global context it is pushed to the sidelines because the centerpiece of international politics is moving to Asia.

The crisis shows how insignificant much of Russia’s relations with the west have become even though a couple of decades ago they were the backbone of global politics. An overwhelming majority of nations are unaffected by the events in Ukraine. People in Africa, East Asia or South America may watch with interest how the Russia-US “test of strength” ends, and whether Russian rebellion agains us-led world will be successful, but the issue is clearly at the bottom of their priorities.