How Europe is trying to shield Ukraine from Trump

Europe’s neighbors are tense with their ally the United States as they approach the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine and Europe have been excluded from peace talks under President Donald Trump’s leadership.

Many European leaders, frustrated with Trump’s conduct regarding Ukraine, are now working to come up with a way to provide security guarantees for the war-torn country.

What are European leaders doing to support Kyiv, see below:

How did we get here?

Vladimir Putin and Trump spoke with one another about arranging peace talks with Russia this month. Leaders from Europe and the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern about their being barred from the discussions.

“No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine. At the Munich Security Conference on February 15, Zelenskyy stated that “Europe must have a seat at the table when decisions about Europe are being made.”

French President Emmanuel Macron met with European leaders for an urgent meeting at Paris’ Elysee Palace on February 17 to discuss security arrangements for Ukraine. Without including Ukraine or Europe at the table, top diplomats from the US and Russia met in Saudi Arabia the following day. The two nations stated that they were considering renouncing their relationship.

Trump and Zelenskyy have since engaged in a rhetorical conflict. Trump has accused Ukraine of starting the conflict with Russia and called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator.” The US president’s assertion that he lives in a “disinformation space” made by Krenskyy has received criticism.

What steps are being taken by European leaders to address this?

On March 6, leaders from the 27 member states of the European Union will convene for a summit of urgency. Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, announced on Sunday that Brussels would host this meeting. Security for Ukraine and Europe will be the topic of the summit.

He wrote on social media that “we are living a defining moment for Ukraine and European security.”

Last meeting of EU leaders on February 3 was a discussion of how to avoid a US tariff war.

Three EU diplomats told Politico that the EU is developing a military aid package for Ukraine worth at least 20 billion euros (roughly $21 billion).

According to a report from the US news website, the aid package could include both military supplies like missiles and artillery shells. The demand to replenish Kyiv’s military aid is being led by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

The Trump administration has criticized Ukraine for denying them security guarantees, citing US priorities like border security, and wants Europe to take the lead.

European countries have to deal with Russia’s territorial ambitions, which “will only be greater with US support”, Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at the London-based Chatham House think tank, told Al Jazeera.

Giles added that US leaders are clearly “intending to exert hostile leverage” for Russia’s peace terms to be accepted.

The only thing that can deter Russia and the US is that the European countries are hamstrung by their inability to exercise military might, according to Giles.

What message are European leaders sending to Trump?

This week, Macron and Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, will make a separate trip to Washington to try to persuade Trump not to leave Ukraine.

According to Starmer and Macron, the pair reached a conclusion during a phone call on Sunday that Europe must “show united leadership in support of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.”

Russian deputy foreign minister said on Saturday that Trump-Putin summit preparations are also ongoing.

On Monday, Macron will meet with Trump, and on Thursday, Starmer will travel to the US president.

“I will tell him]Trump], ‘ Deep down, you cannot be weak in the face of President]Putin]. It’s not you. It’s not what you’re made of, and it’s not in your interests, ‘” Macron said during a social media question and answer session on Monday before his visit.

There could not be a discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine, Starmer said at the Scottish Labour Party conference in Glasgow on Sunday, adding that the country’s citizens must have a long-term secure future.

However, Trump said on the Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio on Friday that Starmer and Macron “haven’t done anything” to end the Ukraine war.

According to Giles, “there is a striking parallel between the leaders who are marching to Trump’s court in Washington to try to conjure him and the time when the same thing is happening at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022″ to try to persuade Putin to not invade Ukraine.”

In order to calm tensions with Ukraine, Macron and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace made a trip to Moscow in November 2021 to meet with then-CIA Director William Burns to discuss US-Russian relations.

How widespread is support for Ukraine?

As Ukraine marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, many leaders are in Kyiv to show their support.

Leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, were greeted by Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, and Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff.

Costa, Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, Edgars Rinkevics, the president of Latvia, Gitanas Nauseda, the president of Lithuania, and Kristen Michal, the prime minister of Estonia, also made their appearances in Kyiv on Monday.

In the Ukrainian capital are Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, according to local reports.

Source: Aljazeera