The short goodbye

In the space of a week, the Trump administration cut Ukraine and Europe out of peace talks with Russia and left the entire transatlantic alliance in turmoil. How will the continent’s divided leaders respond to the stark new reality?

Patrick Wintour

As European leaders met in Paris on Monday to prepare an answer to their apparent exclusion from the talks about Ukraine’s future, the existential and all-encompassing question of how to influence an unchained US president occupied every European leader. Amid widespread calls at the summit for a large boost in defence spending, the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, said that his proposals for British and other European troops on the ground in Ukraine would only work with significant US support that is not yet on the table. “Europe must play its role, and I’m prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others, if there is a lasting peace agreement, but there must be a US backstop, because a US security guarantee is the only way to deter…

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Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 21 February 2025

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