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This article first appeared on the Atlantic Council site.

US President Donald Trump will have his first high-level meeting with a Russian representative on Wednesday, when Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov comes to the White House following a scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The stakes are high: about the only thing on which Moscow and Washington agree is that relations are at their lowest point since the height of the Cold War.

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Lavrov will try to persuade Trump that the downturn in relations has nothing to do with Russia, that President Barack Obamas Russophobia and NATO expansion are to blame and that its time for another reset.

He will suggest that the two countries put aside contentious issues like Ukraine, abandon economic sanctions and join forces against ISIS.

That would be a huge mistake.

Russias aggression against Ukraineits illegal annexation of Crimea and undeclared war in eastern Ukrainecannot be swept under the rug. Russias actions represent an assault on the international rules-based order that has been the basis for security and stability in Europe since World War II.

Letting Russian aggression stand would mean going back to a Europe divided into spheres of influence, with the hegemony of big powers over small states. This would only invite further Russian aggression and increase the risk of conflict in the future.

Russia's military jets and navy ships take part in a military exercise called Kavkaz (the Caucasus) 2016 at the coast of the Black Sea in Crimea on September 9, 2016. Alexander Vershbow writes that when he meets with the Russian foreign minister later this week Donald Trump should tackle head-on the fundamental reason why relations have deteriorated in the first place: Russias aggression against Ukraine. VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty

To put our relations with Moscow on a more sustainable footing, the president should tackle head-on the fundamental reason why relations have deteriorated in the first place: Russias aggression against Ukraine.

The need is urgent. Despite signing the Minsk agreements more than two years ago, Moscow has failed to rein in its separatist proxies in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Nearly constant shelling claims the lives of dozens of Ukrainian soldiers each week, and conditions for civilians on both sides of the contact line are abominable.

The violence claimed its first American victim last month, when a separatist landmine exploded a vehicle of the civilian OSCE monitoring mission.

Diplomatic efforts led by Germany and France may have prevented the situation from getting worse, but they appear to be running out of gas. Chancellor Angela Merkel ran into a brick wall when she raised Ukraine with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on May 2.

It is increasingly clear that, by themselves, Germany and France lack the leverage to induce Russia to reverse course and withdraw its forces and proxies from the Donbas. Stronger, high-level US diplomatic engagement, working with Kiev, Berlin and Paris, could make the difference in ending the occupation and avoiding another intractable frozen conflict.

So as he prepares for his meeting with Lavrov and a possible first summit with Putin, Trump should make solving the conflict in Ukraine the litmus test and first priority of US engagement with Moscow.

He should appoint a senior diplomat as a special envoy who is empowered to negotiate directly with Kremlin officials calling the shots in eastern Ukraine. Any bargain with Russia should be contingent on Moscow and its proxies fully implementing the Minsk agreements and restoring Ukraines sovereignty over the Donbas, including control of its international borders.

This isnt an unreasonable demand. It is simply asking Putin to do what he promised to do but has never delivered, starting with a lasting ceasefire and withdrawal of foreign forces and heavy weapons.

With real security on the ground, the United States and its Western partners could ensure that President Petro Poroshenko delivers on his side of the bargain, including special status for the Donbas, amnesty and credible, internationally-supervised elections

To get there, the parties should consider deployment of an international peacekeeping force and civilian administration for a one or two-year transition phase.

An international enforcement mechanism, the missing link in the Minsk agreements, could ensure that both sides honor the ceasefire and pull back heavy weapons from the contact line, and that Russia removes its forces and equipment from Ukrainian soil.

The international authorities could take control of the international border, ensuring the end of illegal arms supplies to the separatists while creating the conditions needed for elections and the return of displaced persons, free of outside intimidation.

At the end of the transition period, Kiev would assume control of the border as the international presence draws down, and would finally exercise full Ukrainian sovereignty once again.

Crimea would still be a long-term problem, since we cannotand should notratify Russias illegal actions there. But the restoration of Ukraines sovereignty over the Donbas would allow us to turn the page, including easing or lifting most of the sanctions.

It would bring much better living conditions for the Russian people, and for the people of the Donbas, who have suffered the most. NATO and Russia could begin to restore practical cooperation, and get back to building a cooperative security order in Europe and beyond.

If Putin spurns the presidents initiative, however, the United States and its allies will have no choice but to increase the pressure on Russia even further by tightening sanctions and stepping up economic and military assistance to Ukraine, including lethal defensive weapons to enable the Ukrainians to protect their forces and deter new Russian offensives.

Ukraine is where the relationship disintegrated, and solving Ukraine is where the rebuilding should begin. High-level US diplomatic engagement and the introduction of an international enforcement mechanism could enable Trump and Putin to succeed where previous efforts failed, and remove the cloud that hangs over the US-Russia relationship.

Alexander Vershbow is a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington. He previously served as Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Assistant Secretary of Defense and US Ambassador to NATO, Russia and South Korea.

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Trump to Lavrov: Get Out of Ukraine Or Face Stiffer Sanctions - Newsweek

A Ukrainian man carries a portrait of a relative and helps a veteran before a march for Victory Day celebrations in Kiev, Ukraine. Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA

Ukrainian police have arrested dozens of people during tense events to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, which are now an annual flashpoint as Ukraine tries to escape Russias grip and align with the West.

Officials said more than 30,000 police officers were deployed around Ukraine to monitor marches that attracted some 50,000 people. In the capital Kiev, 10,000 police were tasked with maintaining order ahead of the first semi-final of the Eurovision song contest on Tuesday evening.

In Russia, May 9th Victory Day celebrations have regained much of their Soviet-era pomp under President Vladimir Putin, who oversaw a parade of troops, tanks, missile systems and other armour on Red Square beside the Kremlin.

Following a 2014 revolution that ousted pro-Moscow leaders, however, Ukraine has sought to erase symbols of the Soviet years and Kremlin domination, angering some who still feel close to Russia or nostalgia for the communist era.

Scuffles broke out in several Ukrainian cities between people attending Victory Day events some of whom carried banned communist flags or even symbols of Moscow-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine and nationalists who essentially regard the Soviet period as one of Russian occupation.

The second World War ended 72 years ago, and the Kremlin is still trying to command Ukraine like the four Ukrainian frontlines of the 1940s, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said at a commemoration in Kiev.

He also accused Russia of trying to co-opt the glory of the multinational Soviet forces to meet its revanchist, imperial and expansionist needs and insisted that Ukraine will no longer commemorate (victory) according to Moscows script.

Mr Poroshenko paid tribute to Ukraines veterans and those who in their declining years are fated to endure yet another war, yet another aggressor and yet another occupier a reference to a three years of fighting in the east that has killed some 10,000 people and displaced about 1.5 million.

We will certainly win, he added. It is our sacred debt before the dead of the second World War and those heroes of our time who gave their lives for a free Ukraine.

In the main separatist-held stronghold of Donetsk, a military parade featured tanks, artillery and other military vehicles, many of which are banned from the city under an ineffective peace agreement.

As in Soviet days, Red Square hosted a vast display of the Kremlins military might, with heavy armour and high-tech missile systems rolling by in the company of more than 10,000 troops.

Mr Putin said Russia could repel any potential aggression but favoured joint international efforts against terrorism, extremism, neo-Nazism and other threats.

We are open for such co-operation, he added, and Russia will always be on the side of forces for peace.

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Ukraine police arrest dozens at tense Victory Day events - Irish Times

KIEV Ukrainian Central Bank Governor Valeria Gontareva will leave her job on Thursday, leaving her deputy in charge, the central bank said, setting the stage for potentially protracted negotiations between president and parliament on her replacement.

Praised by the International Monetary Fund and some investors for her reforms of the banking system, Gontareva, a former investment banker and business partner of President Petro Poroshenko, tendered her resignation a month ago after a sustained campaign against her from protesters and lawmakers.

But Poroshenko has not yet accepted her resignation or nominated a candidate to replace her. Some names have been doing the rounds and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has backed Volodymyr Lavrenchuk, head of Raiffeisen's (RBIV.VI) Ukrainian unit, for the job.

Deputy Governor Yakiv Smoliy will take charge until a new governor is found, the central bank said in its statement.

"Valeria Gontareva is ceasing all official business at the central bank and going on compulsory leave until (parliament) ... approves her resignation," it said.

"... Yakiv Smoliy will act as chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine until the appointment of a new chairman."

Parliament is in recess from April until mid-May, meaning Poroshenko has not consulted lawmakers about Gontareva's replacement, Iryna Lutsenko, a lawmaker and the president's representative in parliament, told 112 TV on Tuesday.

"The president will determine his nominee after political consultations with parliament," she said.

Gontareva tendered her resignation on April 10 and, in a parting shot, warned that the political pressure on her position would increase after her departure.

She took charge of the central bank nearly three years ago, after Russia's annexation of Crimea and with Ukraine in the throes of a pro-Russian separatist uprising.

Her departure leaves Poroshenko with one fewer ally in power at a time when lenders are already questioning Ukraine's ability to follow through on promised reforms.

It nearly completes an exodus of reformers who were appointed after Poroshenko's pro-Western administration took charge following the Maidan street protests in 2013-2014.

The IMF, which is supporting Ukraine with a $17.5 billion bailout program that began in 2015, has urged Kiev to appoint a governor with the kind of independence that will allow him or her to build on Gontareva's reforms.

These include shutting down half Ukraine's lenders and switching to a flexible exchange rate. She also nationalized PrivatBank, an oligarch-owned lender of systemic importance, which she said lent all its corporate loans to parties related to its owners.

(Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors digested President Donald Trump's abrupt dismissal of his FBI chief as well as corporate earnings from Walt Disney and Nvidia.

WASHINGTON Finance officials from the Group of Seven industrial economies this week will discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's tax and regulatory reforms, efforts to combat terrorist financing and a brightening economic picture, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON The U.S. government had a $182 billion budget surplus in April, confounding market expectations for a deficit, according to Treasury Department data released on Wednesday.

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Ukraine central bank post in political limbo as Gontareva leaves - Reuters

Australian contestant Isaiah Firebrace has made it through to the Eurovision finals to be held this weekend in Kyiv, Ukraine.

The 17-year-oldperformed his song Dont Come Easy in the first semi-final early this morning, Australian time.

The young performer, from the tiny town of Moama in southern NSW, was one of 10 in the first semi-final to make it through to finals night.

"Tonight I just wanted to deliver my best performance and really connect to the lyrics of my song and make Australia proud," Firebrace said.

"Eurovision has been a dream come true for me, and Im so happy I get to be on the stage again for the Grand Final. I am so thankful for all the support from fans over here and everyone back home."

Firebrace is the third Australian to compete in the contest, after Dami Im, who took second place in 2016, and Guy Sebastian, who placed fifth in 2015.

He isnt the only Australian contestant in this years competition. Denmarks contestant, Anja Nissen, was raised on her parents farm west of Sydney and won The Voice in 2014.

She will compete in the second semi-final night to be held Friday morning Australian-time.

SBS will broadcast semi-final two on Friday at 5am and the grand final on Sunday at 5am. The shows will be available on SBS On Demand shortly after they finish airing.

The finals and semi-finals will be rebroadcast this weekend, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7.30 pm.

Ukraine won the right to hold the contest with an emotionally and politically charged entry, 1944, performed by Jamala in last years contest.

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Australia's Isaiah Firebrace makes it through to Eurovision finals in Ukraine - SBS

When the Eurovision Song Contest starts today in Kiev, Ukraine, one country will be noticeably absent: Russia is sitting out the competition. The supposedly unifying contest has been the stage of tensions between the two countries for the past several years.

Ukraine was last years winner, and therefore this years host country, but its 2016 victory was not without controversy. Despite Eurovisions explicit ban on political lyrics, the countrys contestant Jamala sang 1944, which she said she wrote about her familys removal from Crimea amid Joseph Stalins mass deportations of Crimean Tatars. The Muslim Turkic ethnic minority now makes up almost 15 percent of Crimeas population; Jamala was the first member to perform at Eurovision, and she later dedicated the song to Tatars living under Russian control in Crimea, much to Russias dismay.

Ukraine's Bittersweet Independence Day

But some viewers point out that Russia hasnt steered clear of politics either: Russias poorly received 2014 entry could be interpreted as a reference to that countrys annexation of Crimea, which happened just months before the competition. After all, the song does feature the lyrics, Living on the edge/ Closer to the crime/ Cross the line a step at a time/ Maybe theres a place/ Maybe theres a time/ Maybe theres a day youll be mine.

Jamalas win last year set the stage for more strained politics, which have surfaced in the months leading up to Tuesdays contest. In March, Ukraine banned Russias contestant, Yuliya Samoylova, from entering the country to participate because she visited Crimea in 2015 after it was annexed by Russia. Barring Samoylova, who has used a wheelchair since childhood, has created a public-relations headache for Ukraineand its been argued that was part of the point. According to the BBC, some suspect Moscow knew what would happen when it chose [Yuliya] Samoilova, knowing that she had travelled to Crimea. While Russia has protested Ukraines decision, it has refused to replace her, saying she will go on to represent her country in next years Eurovision contest. Russia also rejected Ukraines offer to have her perform remotely, and has since announced it will not broadcast the contest at all.

This is the first year a country has banned another nations contestant, and Eurovisions organizers are not happy that their event seems to be the new continental theater in which Ukraine and Russias drama plays out. But its certainly not the first time international confrontations have factored into the competition. From Georgias 2009 withdrawal over a restricted song that subtly protested Vladimir Putin to the outcry over human rights abuses in Azerbaijan (where the contest took place in 2012), the concert meant to showcase European talent and unity often features an unspoken, but not necessarily unsung, political undercurrent.

Americans might view Eurovision as an annual oddity: Its where Swedens ABBA got its start with Waterloo in 1974 and where Austrias bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst won 40 years later. But the contests history provides an illuminating perspective on postwar Europe. Eurovision started in 1956 as a way to help unify the continent in the aftermath of World War II. As William Lee Adams, a close observer and obsessive chronicler of Eurovision, wrote for The New York Times, it began as a decidedly less flashy affair, with women in ball gowns singing classy chansons. Only decades later did it transform into a showcase for nationalism on psychedelics: Every year features outrageous sequined and bejeweled costumes and set designs (not the least of which included a man in a giant hamster wheel).

In part, the breakup of the U.S.S.R. offered a chance to reconceive the contest as former Soviet countries began participating. Since the end of the Cold War, Eurovision has served as a form of cultural diplomacy of East European states in order to express their aspirations for European integration, according to the European Commissions study of the event. Participation can also offer an opportunity for building national prestige; as The Atlantic explained in 2014, The contest, much like Miss World, the World Cup, and the Olympics, is a stage for countries to come out to the world after years of oppression, and showcase the first flushes of independence.

Today, it serves as a stage for countries to express their national pride and affirm their European affiliation, and this is true even for competitors who come from well outside Europes geographic boundaries. From the seven countries that participated in the initial concert, Eurovision has grown to include over 40, including some non-continental ones like Australia and Israel. (Nations are allowed to participate if their broadcasters are members of the European Broadcasters Union.) In fact, offering an expansive and inclusive vision of Europe is now central to the contests mission: This years theme is celebrate diversity.

Over the course of three rounds in one week, the performances are scored by both official juries and by European viewers. The voting portion gives countries the opportunity to renew perennial pop alliances (mainly because voters arent allowed to pick their own countries contestants). A 2006 statistical study found that they tend to vote in blocs: You can count on the Scandinavians to support each other, and the Balkans have each others back. Even the U.K. and Ireland trade points with one another.

More than 200 million people tuned in to last years contest (this year, Europhiles in the U.S. can watch on Logo TV). While its hard to say how much the Russian broadcaster boycott will affect this years viewership, plenty of eyes will be trained on Kievand not just to see what ridiculous outfits and choreography will take the stage.

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Eurovision Will Be Extra Political This Year - The Atlantic