Ukraine and Syria Are in U.S. Election Limbo

The U.S. presidential election isn’t just cause for American anxiety: Ukraine and Syria are two countries where only the Nov. 8 vote can lead to significant changes -- even, if they’re lucky, to ending bloodshed.

Both the end of the war in eastern Ukraine and the resolution of the Syrian conflict should concern Europe more than they do the U.S. Ukraine’s Russian-backed rebellion is a direct result of the Kiev authorities’ decision to move toward membership in the European Union. The Syrian crisis has flooded Europe with refugees. And yet European leaders are either incapable of defusing both situations or unwilling to do anything until they figure out which way the U.S. is going to move. A Wednesday meeting in Berlin of the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine and a subsequent EU summit on Thursday, both inconclusive, prove that both Ukraine and Syria are now in U.S. election-induced limbo.