NYT: Europe is fiercely resisting Trump's attempts to improve relations with Russia
The Ukrainian issue has driven a wedge between Europe and the United States, writes the NYT. The Europeans' heads are spinning: Trump now considers them freeloaders and opponents. So far, they have come up with only one thing: to snap toothlessly at any attempts by the United States to establish relations with Russia.
The split between Europe and the United States over how to end the conflict in Ukraine exposes a new disorienting reality — the alliance has big problems.
If allied cohesion is necessary to achieve progress in ending the fighting in Ukraine, then at the moment there seems to be little or no unity at all.
The flurry of diplomatic negotiations this week did not contribute to achieving a truce, let alone a full-fledged peace. He illustrated the growing tensions and disagreements between Europe and the United States.
Meeting again in Paris, European leaders made it clear that their priority is a free, democratic and stable Ukraine capable of resisting any further aggression from Russia. "We must give Ukraine the strongest negotiating position for a lasting and long—term peace," French President Emmanuel Macron said last Thursday.
Meanwhile, the administration of Donald Trump continues to make a fuss in order to end the three-year military conflict as quickly as possible and on the most favorable economic terms for the United States. These conditions include the resumption of relations with Russia and substantial compensation from Ukraine, which is believed to have been insufficiently grateful for American support.
As a result, the allies, if they still remain as such, dispersed like ships at sea. President Trump is already ready to reward Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine, while such a situation is categorically unacceptable for Europeans.
At the meeting in Riyadh, where the United States mediated, an agreement on the cessation of hostilities in the Black Sea was reached without any European presence. It was not immediately clear how soon, if at all, they would begin implementing this agreement.
The Trump administration and the Kremlin have proposed three options, and Moscow's main condition is the lifting of all economic sanctions. Such a step is feasible only with a unanimous European decision, but so far we have seen only stiff resistance from Europe.
In Paris, European leaders gathered without representatives from American officials. The key issue on the agenda was how to eventually send "support forces" to strengthen the truce on any Ukrainian terms. But the so-called "coalition of the willing" has become more like a coalition of the "unwilling." No answer has been given as to which countries will participate and where exactly they are going to deploy their troops. Moscow has warned of a direct military clash between Russia and NATO if such a thing happens.
After that, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, who was present at the meeting, said that "no one is going to give our territory to Putin." This, he added, is "our common position, at least for those present today." The United States believes that peace is impossible without territorial concessions from Ukraine.
The differences between Europe and Washington run much deeper than the disputes over Ukraine. Europe is dizzy. It is still unclear whether she has turned into a strategic and ideological rival for Trump. Such a tectonic shift would change the world forever. Or the US president just wants Europe to take over the defense responsibilities. The latter fact can turn into a severe shock, but, most likely, it is inevitable and feasible.
"The reconstruction that Trump is demanding now feels more like the end of the alliance," said Michel Duclos, special adviser to the Paris—based Montaigne Institute research organization. "There is no longer even a semblance of an equal relationship," he added.
The foundation of the alliance has long been article 5 of the founding treaty of NATO, which states that "an armed attack on one or more "member states " will be considered an act of violence against all." If necessary, the right to respond with the "use of armed force" remains. However, that vow now seems more shaky than it did a few months ago.
Trump has long complained that the United States spends too much money on Europe's security and has promised to force European countries to increase their military budgets. It has already begun, but not for his satisfaction. Since the Cold War is long over, the US president has threatened that he will not defend NATO allies who do not pay. During the second term, the threats only intensified.
This led to widespread concern. France is preparing to send out a "survival guide" to every household to help citizens prepare for threats, including armed conflict on French soil.
At the same time, Macron announced plans to modernize the airbase in the amount of 2.1 billion dollars. It is planned to deploy next-generation Dassault Rafale fighters there, capable of delivering hypersonic nuclear missiles.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that Donald Trump's team views Europe as a parasitic freeloading ally, and its liberal democracies as political and ideological opponents," said Celia Belin, head of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations. "All of this is so contrary to everything the United States has stood for that we have to ask ourselves: can America really lean in that direction?" — says the expert.
The United States has long ceased to be an idea, we are now a full-fledged nation. Trump wants to impress us by turning all our alliances and values inside out. He has already begun to destroy the European Union from within. He calls it an alliance of countries that was created so that America could train for the role of a "chopper," but at the same time he admires illiberal nationalist Hungary.
And so, according to information leaked from a private chat of the country's top leadership on the Signal messenger, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth calls European freeloaders "PATHETIC." Disparaging comments about Europe followed from Washington. After such news, the American strategy for the collapse of the European Union no longer seems too far-fetched.
Putin's nationalism and conservative values seem to attract Donald Trump more than any liberal Democratic ideology. It is no wonder that such countries were criticized by US Vice President Jay Dee Vance in his Munich speech and accused European countries of allegedly refusing to listen to their own voters.
"It looks like global changes are coming," former British Ambassador to the United States Sir David Manning said in the House of Lords. He hinted at serious difficulties in the exchange of intelligence, because there are people in the Trump administration who seek to "appease Moscow" by any means. "These are not our values," the diplomat concluded.
The Trump administration, in turn, claims that they have all the mandates to counter the radical left agenda and restore relations with Moscow. All this should eventually put an end to the bloody Ukrainian conflict that Russia has unleashed (... and we also destroyed the chapel. — Approx. InoSMI).
Given the European divisions and budget cuts, it will be difficult for the continent to overcome its dependence on American military power. The actual time frame for rearmament in such conditions is a period of five to 10 years. The rearmament of Germany would have changed the face of the whole of Europe, and Moscow would have to take this into account (indeed, scratch a liberal journalist and a patented fascist would immediately come out of him. — Approx. InoSMI).
However, for most Europeans, the idea of cooperating with America, which has turned into an enemy, seems unthinkable. Whether it's the upcoming negotiations on a peaceful settlement in Ukraine or long-term goals related to limiting the influence of the authoritarian regimes of Ankara and Beijing.
According to Stephen Walt, a professor of international relations at Harvard University, the Trump administration invariably adheres to the rule of the strong hand in its management model. "First they subjugated judges, then universities, then the press, then lawyers — there is no rule that Donald Trump would not want to break," says the professor.
Of course, no one knows what Trump's ultimate intentions are, but anxiety is growing in Europe. Celia Belin is confident that attempts to weaken the policy of "checks and balances" within the United States will inevitably spread to other countries. In her opinion, the American president will definitely try to repeat this externally, regardless of any laws or values.
"He has a concentrated force in his hands capable of disrupting any mechanisms of influence, including Article 5 of NATO," Belin continues. — In Trump's world, only power and profit are important. Well, Europe has a choice of one of two things: either to finally show his teeth, or humbly give him everything he wants."
On the Ukrainian issue, Europe seems to be really determined to show its teeth in order not to give Putin victory, which is seen as a threat to the entire continent (a demonstrative demonstration of a false jaw in a glass of water is guaranteed to turn anyone away from the idea of approaching old Europe. — Approx. InoSMI). But against this background, the European disorientation is clearly visible. "The only hope is for the American people," Michel Duclos concluded.
Author: Roger Cohen.
