On the eve of the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, many called it a "new Yalta" and predicted a new division of Europe between Washington and Moscow. These predictions surprised me. During the Yalta Conference, Allied troops were on the ground in Europe and could, without much trouble, divide the old continent into spheres of influence. Now, the maximum Trump and Putin can "divide" is the occupied Ukrainian territories (and even that they cannot). So, this is nothing like Yalta.After World War II, the renowned Polish publicist Jerzy Stempowski bitterly noted that the fate of the continent had been decided by powers outside the continent. Stempowski was right. The United States is located across the "wonderful ocean." Great Britain—after all, an island—at that time was primarily focused on its non-European possessions. And Russia is a continental periphery, which at any moment can turn its face toward Asia.From this perspective, Anchorage summit resembled Yalta only in the sense that it was a meeting of people who do not understand or love Europe, even though they sincerely believe they do. After all, indifference to Europe is rooted in American culture and political tradition. The first U.S. president who tried to change this tradition was Woodrow Wilson. A president during World War I, he realized that America’s security was inseparable from Europe’s security—but he suffered a complete defeat. All his successors promised not to continue Wilson’s policy—Franklin Roosevelt included. Roosevelt became Europe’s ally in World War II not so much out of conviction, but out of necessity. Yet he still saw the continent as a pie to be sliced up with Stalin—not from desire, but from necessity.So the president who understood that it was impossible to manage without Europe’s support (at least the part that remained outside Soviet control) was not Roosevelt, but Truman. Yet American isolationism and misunderstanding of Europe did not disappear. Americans truly and sincerely fail to understand the motives of Europeans. They divide not into those who understand Europe and those who don’t, but into those who love Europe and those who don’t. Once upon a time, this distinction was captured in the works of Henry James, a classic of both British and American literature. But James was an American who wanted to become British. His American characters may be naive and provincial, but they love Europe, even if they don’t always share the European way of life.But Trump really does not love Europe. And that is understandable. Trump is a man driven solely by personal gain (and by state interests—if you assume that for him, the American state is himself).A united Europe is a far more difficult economic partner than fragmented European states. With each individual state, America can dictate its own terms. But with the European Union, it must negotiate.How could that not be irritating? That is precisely why Trump has always been a staunch supporter of the EU’s collapse and backed Britain’s exit from the bloc.And here Trump is quite similar to Putin. The Russian president has also always been irritated by the European Union—precisely because it is much easier for Moscow to influence each individual European country than a united Europe. That is why both Trump and Putin see the project of a united Europe as one of their main problems. Yet now they cannot divide Europe between themselves either. Russian troops are stuck in Ukraine. Americans are in Europe as allies, not occupiers. And Europeans themselves are doing everything possible to keep them there. Because those troops can protect them from potential aggression, but they cannot intervene in political life.Thus, Alaska illustrates the progress European countries have made since the war. After World War II, they simply had to accept the victors’ verdict. But now, neither Trump nor Putin can impose their will on them. What’s more, they cannot even reach an agreement with each other about Europe precisely because they are incapable of imposing their decisions on others.So yes, Europe is no longer an American pie.Nor a Russian one.SourceAbout the author. Vitaly Portnikov, journalist, laureate of the Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine.The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.