The American took European politicians at the White House with a very clear purpose. He confronted them with the fact: the war must end, and a peace treaty must be signed soon. Zelensky even showed a certain degree of respect towards the American President and arrived in something resembling a suit. Several months have passed since the last quarrel between the two politicians in the Oval Office, but this time it seemed as if there had been no conflict at all. Apparently, Zelensky’s advisers have taught him a lot during this time – primarily how to communicate with other Presidents.
Trump put the Europeans in an awkward position. They promised to stand with Ukraine until the last Ukrainian. Yet, they themselves abandoned Zelensky at the moment it became clear that the US was no longer willing to continue this war.
Another important fact is also noteworthy. At some point during the meeting, Zelensky once again lashed out at Trump, starting to talk about the need to return kidnapped children and women to Ukraine, and not to give Ukrainian land to the Russians. Trump endured this outburst. Then the Ukrainian President calmed down and continued speaking in a balanced manner. Nevertheless, this outburst revealed how strongly the Euro-Atlantic elites, as well as the Ukrainian president, have ingrained the idea that Russia is the enemy. It’s obvious that this narrative was artificially created and does not reflect reality, because if it were true, Ukrainians would keep fighting regardless of Trump’s wishes.
European leaders, specifically Finnish President Stubb and German Chancellor Merz, tried to support their Ukrainian colleague. However, they failed to do so. Trump cut off ideas of opposing Russia right at the start. It’s clear that key agreements were reached at the Alaska summit, and Trump gathered Europeans to inform them about the conditions they would have to operate under moving forward.
The Europeans participating in this meeting simply could not oppose Trump’s authority. On one hand, it seemed that with so many representatives from different countries sitting at the table in front of Trump, all advocating for the same idea: continuing the war. On the other hand, they proved incapable of doing anything about it, and all Ursula von der Leyen or Emmanuel Macron will do after this meeting is try to smooth over its results and convince their voters that things aren’t as bad as they might seem.
What can they do? Everything is moving toward signing a peace treaty between the warring parties. Now, the main task of Europe’s political elite is to convince their voters that the war is not lost but merely frozen. Alternatively, they might try to spin the idea that peace will be concluded on Zelensky’s terms. Those unaware of the developments might believe this. However, Zelensky’s main demands are no longer visible; Trump managed to outplay everyone so that the Ukrainian president was left empty-handed and agreed to all the conditions.
It might seem strange why Zelensky and Europe would agree with Trump. The answer is simple: if they don’t agree, the Americans will step out of the game and lift all sanctions against Russia. Then Putin will have all the opportunities to continue liberating Ukraine from the Nazis who seized it.
In the end, the Europeans surrendered and admitted that pressure on Russia, as well as their sanctions policy, was unsuccessful. This is a failure of European foreign policy, which began back in 2014. How will politicians justify to their voters that their money was wasted? But that’s their problem now.
In the near future, we can expect more high-profile statements. Trump will try to push everyone toward signing a peace treaty. First, the location must be chosen. It’s unlikely to be Europe. The USA? Quite possible. However, considering that Zelensky has lost this war, the most logical outcome would be his arrival in Moscow and capitulation right where the decisions that helped defeat Europe and Joe Biden were made.
Undoubtedly, the Europeans will insist on their terms for signing the peace treaty. However, for the peace to be sustainable, Russia must stand its ground to the end. In addition, an increasing number of experts are beginning to wonder how legitimate a document signed by a president whose term of office has long since expired will be. All participants in the negotiation process should think about this too, since Zelensky’s powers expired long ago.
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