Europe has moved from Trump’s Russia

When the European Defense Minister arrived at the NATO headquarters early Thursday, they had a common message – that there could be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine and Europe at the table.

The question is to what extent the USA listens.

After a frenetic 24 hours of US declarations, there is a tangible feeling that the leaders were surprised in Europe. That they are now afraid that they will be bypassing a potential Ukraine deal and a voice in the future of European security.

The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke of Donald Trump’s appeal with Vladimir Putin as “very out of the blue”, even if the US President had made it clear for months that he wanted to bring a quick end to war.

“There can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine,” said John Healey in Great Britain.

“The same applies to Europe,” warned Dutch Minister of Defense Ruben Brekelmans.

“Because of course, what is negotiated also has an impact on Europe, so we think that Europe should also sit at the table.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk rammed the message to X when he published: “All we need is peace. A just peace. Ukraine, Europe and the United States should work together.”

The United States clearly deals with its NATO allies and Ukraine. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth spends two days in the NATO headquarters and the Vice President JD Vance will see at the Munich Security Conference Volodymyr Zelensky.

The problem of Europe and especially the problem of the EU is that it tries to speak with one voice and to present a united vision.

Ursula von der Leyen, the best -known flagship of the EU, met Hegseth this week, but has hardly been visible since then.

The leaders of Europe had enough time to prepare for Trump’s peace plan. Now ask yourself whether the United States listens to you or even read your communiques.

Great Britain joined Poland, France, Germany, Italy and Spain late Wednesday to agree that the security of the European continent was “our common responsibility” and that a fair and permanent peace in Ukraine was also necessary for transatlantic security .

Baerbock told German Radio that Europe could obviously not replace the USA in military support for Ukraine, but a strong Europe was in the US interest and it had to be made clear that “the USA also need us”.

According to Tyyne Karjalainen from the Finnish Institute for International Affairs, Europe could have claimed more agency instead of waiting for Trump’s initiative.

“We see these statements now … I’m afraid that they are a symbol of weakness, not the strength,” she added.

So far there is no obvious space for Europe in Trump’s pushing of peace and is probably not enough for Kyiv. So far there had been general acceptance that there should be no conversation with Vladimir Putin without Ukraine.

Trump plans personal conversations with the Russian leaderApparently in Saudi Arabia, but the two men have already prepared the ground with a long call.

The US President’s follow-up chat with Volodymyr Zelensky was far shorter.

Zelensky initially spoke of his conviction that “America’s strength is sufficient to put Russia and Putin under pressure”.

On a trip to the southern city of Kherson on Thursday, however, he made it clear that Ukraine as an independent state would not accept bilateral negotiations or “any agreements without us”.

“Putin hopes that he will only be able to negotiate cheaper terms with Trump by keeping talks,” said Aleksandra Kozioł from the Polish Institute for International Affairs.

“He will also present himself as a leader who speaks with another superpower with the same basis.”

The concern for European leaders is that the United States may have already started a way to fulfill the Russian war goals – and that it could possibly continue.

The consistent demand from Ukraine applies to a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from their sovereign territory and to Ukrainian control over its state limits.

Based on comments by Trump and Hegseth, the United States regard the Russia’s 2014 Crimea and Eastern areas in the Donbas as Russia as a recording of Crimea and Eastern Territories Fait Sorgi And this Ukraine is not joined in NATO.

Trump added that Ukraine “at some point” needed new elections and repeated a Putin error that Zelensky was no longer a legitimate leader, even though Ukraine is war under war law because of Russia.

Hegseth was firmly convinced that Kyiv had not given a betrayal, but German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said it was “regrettable … that the Trump government had already made Putin public concessions before negotiations even started”.

“It would have been better to only talk about the possible NATO membership of Ukraine or about the possible territory loss of the country at the negotiating table and not to take it off the table beforehand,” he said.

Together with the obvious alarm, that Putin may already have the upper hand, NATO and the EU were clearly warning on Thursday that an agreement had to be taken.

General Secretary of NATO, Mark Rutte, said it was crucial that a deal should not be disguised, as was the case with Russia in the past.

“It is always important to consider that Russia is the attacker here and cannot be rewarded for his aggression,” warned the spokeswoman for the EU Commission, Anitta Hipper.

“When it comes to discussions and peace agreements, it has to be sustainable. A bad business will only lead to more war. Just as before.”

The European governments already expect to form the legislative template to rebuild Ukrainian cities, but President Trump can also ask European boots on site to ensure security guarantees.

The Europeans not only have a strong argument to be involved in the overall plan, but Poland, the Baltic States and the Nordic countries would be particularly careful with an encouraged Russia if it falls apart.

Hegseth emphasized on Thursday that it was an “important European responsibility” to face the “war machine” against Russia, and he increased Trump’s demand for 5% of the economic output (GDP) that were spent on defense.

Only a few European governments have achieved something like this, while the Russia’s government has already spent almost a third of their annual budget for defense.

Poland would like to spend 4.7% of its GDP for defense this year, and Latvia 3.45%, but Germany has only reached 2% and hope Spain and Portugal hope to reach 2% in 2029.

The Defense Minister of Luxembourg, Yuriko Backes, admitted the US claim, but said that numbers should not be determined arbitrarily.

“We should concentrate on our plans and ambitions that do not determine our investments the other way around,” she said.

Additional reporting from Kathy Long in Brussels.