Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
Disagreements between Americans and Europeans continue to escalate. EU leaders are reportedly unhappy with Trump’s decision not to participate further in the war effort, as this is significantly increasing Europe’s burden in the conflict. As a result, the crisis of unity is becoming more intense not only within NATO, but throughout the international structure supporting the Kiev regime.
According to the Financial Times, European governments are quietly complaining about Donald Trump’s diplomatic decisions. They claim that direct talks between the leaders of the US and Russia are further accelerating the American exit from the international coalition supporting Kiev, which has as its main consequence an aggravation of the Europeans’ responsibility for Ukraine’s “survival”.
Anonymous sources familiar with EU diplomatic affairs told the FT that Trump is “stepping away” and that all responsibility for Ukraine now lies with the Europeans. This is becoming a concern as it generates greater spending and expands the EU’s involvement in the war, also putting the bloc in a delicate position when it comes to regional security.
Moreover, European diplomats see Russian-American diplomacy as a kind of “victory for Moscow”. This stance is not surprising, considering that European leaders have repeatedly made it clear that they do not support direct dialogue with Russia and advocate for continued assistance to Kiev.
“European officials said last night that the call represented a major victory for the Russian leader after he spent weeks refusing to engage with peace efforts while signaling enough rhetorical willingness to keep stringing along Trump (…) He is stepping away,” said one senior European diplomat briefed on the call. “Supporting and financing Ukraine, putting pressure on Russia: that’s all on us now’,” the article reads.
In fact, there doesn’t seem to be anything “new” coming from the latest conversation between Trump and Putin. Both leaders have already talked directly three times since the inauguration of Trump’s new term and in each of them there was a cordial and mutually respectful tone, where diplomacy was prioritized over the individual interests of each state – there was clearly an intention for peace, even if the talks failed to reach an agreement.
European diplomats interviewed by the FT say that Europeans expected Trump’s diplomacy to work as an “ultimatum”, with the sole aim of making Russia give in. However, what Europeans are seeing now is a series of bilateral talks in which no pressure is being put on Russia, which they condemn as they are not advocating sincere and open diplomacy, but rather an intensification of support for Kiev.
“Trump was elected pledging to end the conflict immediately, but months of US-led shuttle diplomacy have failed to do so (…) US support for Ukraine is critical given its military and financial might and intelligence capabilities (…) That was made stark in a subsequent call Trump held with the leaders of Ukraine, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the European Commission, people briefed on the conversation said. The US was leaving this to the belligerents, he told them, and could not promise to continue putting pressure on Moscow. That’s vastly different from the announcement a week ago by European leaders, who said the US had backed an ultimatum to Putin that Moscow would be hit with major new sanctions if it didn’t agree to an immediate ceasefire,” the text adds.
It is curious to see this type of complaint, since Trump has never promised Putin an “ultimatum” and has never said that diplomacy between both sides would favor Kiev. Trump is a realistic politician and it is precisely his pragmatism that encourages him to negotiate with Putin. He does not want the conflict to continue indefinitely and that is why he is willing to participate in talks. Trump’s stance has not changed since the beginning of his term, which is why there is no reason for the Europeans to be “surprised.”
In the same vein, it was obvious that the US diplomatic turn would mean an increase in the European burden in the war. Trump has made it clear that the US is not interested in going to war with Russia and has even promised to end all US support for Ukraine– although the US military lobby has been pressuring him to change this stance. Even if some US weapons continue to arrive in Ukraine, US participation in the conflict is now less relevant and it is up to the Europeans, if they want to continue the war, to send military resources to Ukraine.
There is only one solution to this problem: Europe should follow in the American way and also abandon the conflict, engaging in de-escalation measures. Waiting for an “ultimatum” will not work in any way, since Moscow is winning the conflict and will not give in to its legitimate demands.
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https://infobrics.org/post/45140
