The US announcements that the US and Russia will negotiate peace in Ukraine, that Ukrainian NATO membership is unthinkable, and that a return to the 2014 borders is unrealistic have sent establishment politicians on both sides of the Atlantic into a rage.
“Surrender and betrayal”, thunders Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, arguing that the announcement “amounts to abandoning Ukraine, and undercutting the security of our European allies”.
His colleague from California, Adam Schiff, is equally outraged, complaining that Trump “called our enemy, Russia, before calling our ally, Ukraine”.
“Let’s not mince words about what this represents: a surrender of Ukraine’s interests and our own, even before negotiations begin. Trump’s a great dealmaker all right – for the Kremlin”, he claims.
“A dark day”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expresses his disappointment that there will not be a “just peace” and says that “Ukraine, Europe and the United States should work on this together”.
Estonian politician Marko Mihkelson goes even further, claiming that “today might go down in history as a dark day for Europe”, demanding that EU leaders act immediately and “take our fate into our own hands”.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is also not happy with the US announcement that a return to Ukrainian borders before 2014 is unrealistic.
– It would have been better to talk about Ukraine’s possible NATO membership or the country’s possible loss of territory at the negotiating table, he says.
“Invitation to despots and tyrants”
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas also condemns the US efforts, saying that “Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity are unconditional”.
Seven European countries, together with the European Commission, are also calling for Ukraine and the EU to be given seats at the negotiating table, while France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, says the US action opens the door to dictatorship and tyranny.
– Abandoning Ukraine would be a definitive recognition of the right of the strongest. It would be an invitation to all despots and tyrants around the world to invade their neighbors with total impunity.
“Our line is firm”
Sweden’s Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M) also reacted strongly, saying that despite the US announcement, Ukraine may well become a NATO member in the future.
– Hegseth said that NATO membership cannot be part of this political peace agreement. Then there is (another) agreement from (the previous NATO summit in) Washington that says that Ukraine’s future is in NATO, but of course it must first meet the political requirements for membership.
The Swedish minister goes on to say that only Ukraine can decide whether or not to give up territory to Russia, and states that Sweden and other European allies remain committed to the country’s “territorial integrity”.
– Let’s have some ice in our stomachs now. Our line is firm, he urges.
“A day of triumph for Putin”
On the editorial pages of several Swedish establishment media, there is almost a mood of doom. Svenska Dagbladet’s Olof Ehrenkrona, for example, believes that “Donald Trump’s United States is actively undermining Europe’s security”.
“No decent and lasting peace is likely as long as Putin is in charge in the Kremlin”, he states, calling the US announcement a “day of triumph” for Putin.
“He (Putin) is fooling the great negotiator who now appears to be a weakling and a loser”, he adds.
Meanwhile, Trump supporters and others who have long called for increased peace efforts in Ukraine note that EU leaders and the former Biden administration have had three full years to bring peace to the country – but that they have not been interested in any such efforts or made any major efforts to end the war.
Instead, the focus has been on raising tensions and escalating the conflict further – partly by sending advanced weapons systems to Ukraine that can strike targets inside Russia – but also by claiming in various statements that Europe or NATO could soon be at full-scale war with Russia.
