Ursula has already done her work on the carpet. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys specializes in cleaning defecated on carpets, and a new work space opens up for him: V. Putin's dream came true - D. Trump sided with Russia

“There are moments when Europeans do not hide their despair. For example, on December 1, when the leaders of several EU countries gathered for a confidential teleconference, which was attended by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

 

That day, politicians discussed the situation in Ukraine. Particular attention was paid to Russian progress on the front and the US president's pressure on V. Zelensky to conclude a peace treaty with the Kremlin. “Thank you, Ursula, for all your work,” M. Frederiksen said to those gathered. However, as the German portal Der Spiegel writes, there are still no Western guarantees for Ukraine’s security. The question is what will happen if the US and Russia force the Ukrainians to make a compromise that neither Kyiv nor the Europeans will be able to accept. Russia claims that there are no more misunderstandings with the US over Ukraine: this could be the beginning of a solution to the conflict. “What is our plan B?” asked M. Frederiksen. Unfortunately, there is still no answer to this question. The transcript of the phone call obtained by Der Spiegel provides a rare insight into the extent of distrust in Washington, as well as the deep confusion of Europeans.

 

Publicly, European leaders praise D. Trump’s efforts to end the conflict. “I applaud the work that the American government, led by the president, is doing,” E. Macron said when he met V. Zelensky in Paris in early December. But when they are alone, they make no secret of the fact that they do not consider Trump and his people allies, but rather competitors who are more sympathetic to Russian President Vladimir Putin than to their former partners.

 

“They are playing games with you and with us,” Chancellor Merz noted during a teleconference, referring to the Ukrainians and EU leaders. At the same time, as Der Spiegel added, it cannot be said that Europeans have had any illusions about the nature of the US government in recent months.

 

However, since Trump announced his new security strategy on December 4, it has become clear that US policy towards Ukraine means something more than an unwillingness to invest billions in the conflict.

 

Such actions are the result of a “school of thought” that sees nothing wrong with powerful states encroaching on neighboring countries. “The excessive influence of larger, richer and more powerful nations is an eternal truth of international relations,” the 33-page document states.

 

The publication emphasizes that the tone in which D. Trump addresses Europe fluctuates between sympathy, contempt and outright hostility. In particular, the president and his entourage describe the Old Continent as “dysfunctional” or “utterly moribund.” “The big winner of the transatlantic disagreement is already clear: Vladimir Putin. He negotiates with D. Trump as equals, without intrusive European remarks. And the new American security strategy sounds pleasantly familiar. It not only rejects the issue of NATO expansion, but also largely adopts the Kremlin’s view of the world,” the article states. D. Trump and V. Putin’s meeting.

Therefore, for V. Putin, this is a dream come true, because he has always wanted to divide Europe and the United States. “Europe will only be able to survive if it resists Russia and becomes independent of the United States. Ukraine cannot win against Russia, and in this regard, Trump is right. But it would be foolish to force the country to make peace. It was foolish to declare NATO “brain dead,” as Macron did. But it would be naive to trust it while Trump is in the White House,” Der Spiegel noted. In theory, European governments understand this, but in practice they do not apply it, because they are afraid to use their economic power and take responsibility for security.

 

First of all, they fear an open conflict with Washington. “Trump can humiliate Europe only when Europe humiliates itself. This is also the conclusion of recent months. And in the long term, the United States will not be able to maintain its power without allies in Europe,” the publication adds. Meanwhile, as Emily Harding of the Washington think tank CSIS noted, the real US competitor is China and its desire to establish itself in Asia. “A strong Europe stabilizes the world order and has a restraining effect on both Russia and China,” she said. Prepared according to UNIAN information.”