For anyone interested in fostering friendly international relations, as I am, the tally of guests at events celebrating the end of World War II - in Moscow earlier this year, and in Beijing this week - is disappointing. The United States skipped one and will be barely present for the other.

In May, citing the Ukraine conflict, the US refused to send anyone to Russia to stand with its wartime comrade, which, along with China, paid a staggering price for victory.

To me, the lack of diplomatic creativity was stupefying. It should have been easy to announce to the world that while the Ukraine issue divided the US and Russia, it would not stand in the way of honoring a nation that contributed so much to the defeat of Nazi Germany.