-Analysis-
PARIS — Donald Trump is distancing himself even further from his European allies — or should we start saying “former allies?” The U.S. president wants to impose his formula for peace on Ukraine, and Wednesday launched a new contemptuous attack on Volodymyr Zelensky.
The transatlantic divide is again clearly visible, with unilateral American warnings on Ukraine — take it or leave it — but also on Israel’s war in Gaza, with France, Germany and the UK taking a tougher-than-usual joint stance, contrasting with Washington’s support for Benjamin Netanyahu‘s extremist strategy.
On Ukraine, the first crack came with the defection of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, from Wednesday’s planned U.S.-Europe consultation meeting in London. Then deliberate leaks revealed the U.S. plan to present Ukraine with a fait accompli. By the end of the day, a new full-fledged crisis was open, and Trump‘s attacks were once again aimed solely at Ukraine, never at Russia, which is blocking a major part of the planned process.
Capitulation or Putin bias?
The Ukrainians see this plan as a capitulation. While Kyiv had accepted the idea of a cessation of hostilities on the current front line, it does not agree to legally cede its territory to Russia. Now, Trump is ready to legally recognize the cession of Crimea to Russia, and perhaps also the eastern regions of Ukraine, while refusing its entry into NATO.
The plan is clearly unbalanced
The plan is clearly unbalanced: Moscow even opposes the maintenance of a strong Ukrainian army and the deployment of European forces as security guarantees. The Europeans did not speak out on Wednesday, but while they are pragmatic on the territorial question, they cannot accept that an amputated Ukraine should emerge vulnerable from this pax americana.
Once again, Washington is showing a blatant pro-Putin bias, with ulterior economic motives since the United States says it is ready to lift sanctions against Russia: in other words, resume business as usual.
A transatlantic alliance
In the worst-case scenario, Europeans could find themselves with a Ukraine that wants to continue the war without American support: what will Europe do? With a dismissive tone, Donald Trump declared that Ukraine could continue the war and lose the rest of the country! He doesn’t think Europe is capable of helping Kyiv continue its fight for a fairer outcome.
The transatlantic divide also became apparent Wednesday with this statement from Paris, London and Berlin, which described as “intolerable” the Israeli decision to block all aid to the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip since March 2. “The provision of humanitarian aid must never be instrumentalized for political ends,” the three countries declared. And yet, the day before, the new American ambassador justified this blockade, which is totally contrary to international humanitarian law.
In Ukraine, as in Gaza, the Europeans see themselves as the guarantors of law and reason in the face of Americans who now favor force and scoff at international law. The only question is whether Europeans have the means to back up this stance. What they do know, however, is they can no longer count on Washington.
