The past week in international politics ended with a summit on Ukraine in London, highlighting the differences between the United States and its European allies regarding the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the figure of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A meeting in the Oval Office between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump two days ago added significance to the March 2 talks organized by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The meeting included dozens of European leaders, including the Ukrainian president.
Also present were Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa.
No U.S. representative attended the conference, although Starmer stated before the summit that the United Kingdom, France, and Ukraine, “and perhaps one or two others,” would work on a peace plan to discuss with Washington.
If there were doubts before, it is now clearer than ever for Zelensky that his country enjoys significant moral support across the European continent.
Both Starmer and French President Macron, during their respective visits to the White House on February 27 and 24, urged Trump not to abandon Ukraine and to maintain a firm stance against Russia, while praising the American president’s plans for a quick peace to end the three-year-long war.
Macron’s visit coincided with the third anniversary of the invasion when the United States shocked the global community by joining Russia in voting against a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.
After Zelensky’s visit to Washington on February 28 was cut short following a clash with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, he received numerous messages of solidarity from Europe.
EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, stated that “the free world needs a new leader,” implicitly criticizing Trump, while Von der Leyen told Zelensky: “Your dignity honors the courage of the Ukrainian people,” in a post on X.
Europe will also offer material support, with Starmer and Zelensky agreeing to a £2.26 billion loan for Ukraine. Zelensky declared that this would be compensated “using revenues from frozen Russian assets” after a warm reception in London.
However, can European aid be enough to compensate for a possible funding shortfall from the United States – the largest contributor of military aid to Ukraine – now that relations between Washington and Kyiv are at their lowest point in the last decade?
This is the question troubling decision-makers in Europe after the sharp clash between Zelensky and Trump in front of reporters at the White House, where Trump presented himself as a “mediator” between Moscow and Kyiv, instead of a steadfast ally of the latter.
“Either you will reach an agreement, or we are out,” Trump said during a tense exchange that seemed to leave Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, concerned.
On March 2, in response to criticism that he was getting too close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump posted on his social media that Americans should “spend less time worrying about Putin” and focus more on “migrant rapist gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental health institutions coming into our country – so we don’t end up like Europe!”
For his part, Zelensky described Putin as “a killer,” someone who cannot be trusted to respect a ceasefire agreement without strong security guarantees from the United States, which Washington has yet to provide.
The Ukrainian president has stated that he still believes the bilateral relationship can be salvaged, despite the fact that the clash seems to have temporarily disrupted an agreement between Kyiv and Washington regarding Ukraine’s critical minerals and post-war reconstruction, reports REL.
