A marathon of European meetings to challenge the succession of Trump and Putin

paris – At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, several leaders of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) met this evening, Wednesday, for a new mini-summit on the security of Europe and the Old Continent.

This meeting took place in the capital Paris, after the extraordinary “informal” summit held yesterday at the Elysée Palace, where the European contribution to peace in Ukraine and possible negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine were discussed.

The European Union is trying to speak with one voice and get a seat on the train that has already started moving after US President Donald Trump announced his desire to hold peace talks in Ukraine alone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, which also angered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

state of emergency

Monday’s meeting was attended by the heads of government of Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, in addition to European Council President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

French writer and political analyst Jean-Pierre Perrin believes that the organization of the first summit indicates the extraordinary and urgent situation that the old continent is witnessing today.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, the writer rules out the existence of a realistic American peace plan for Ukraine, explaining that Trump officially took office recently and such a plan requires a lot of negotiation and communication.

He added that the main problem is the absence of Ukraine, “the main party involved in the war,” and Europe, “the most important entity after Ukraine and Russia.”

On the other hand, military intelligence expert Thomas Feigold believes that the announcement of talks in Saudi Arabia has undermined the relationship between Europe and the United States, raising concerns about reaching an agreement between Moscow and Washington, which is against the security interests of Kiev and Europe.

He continued – speaking to Al Jazeera Net – that a US-Russia deal that does not include Ukraine at the negotiating table “will make no sense and will not last long”.

defensive confrontation

Despite the European consensus on the Russian threat, there are still discussions on the continent about the measures and reactions that should be taken, especially between supporters and opponents of a military deployment in Ukraine, with or without American support, to establish a possible end to the fighting.

French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to confirm yesterday that “France is not preparing to send ground forces to the front to fight in the conflict”, in an interview with several local newspapers.

Among the decisions to provide security guarantees to Kiev as part of a possible peace deal with Moscow, Macron touched on “the possibility of sending experts or even forces on a limited basis outside any conflict zone to reassure Ukrainians and sign solidarity,” adding: “This is what we are thinking about with the British.”

In this context, writer Biran noted that Britain’s exit from the European Union weakened the unity of the continent, “but we see its return to the European arena as a true ally, given that its military power is still the most important and good point against Putin and the Americans.”

Beran also touched on the new leadership emerging in the east, which represented a major arms drive under its new prime minister, Donald Tusk, at a time when France and Germany are being hit hard by the domestic political situation.

Implied Warranties

At a meeting on Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the possibility of deploying forces in Ukraine in the future “if a permanent peace agreement is reached”, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the discussion “premature”.

A military intelligence expert confirmed that the Europeans are well aware that they must increase defense spending in any case, but the crucial point in this matter is the “arbitrary” percentage mentioned by the US president of 5%, which even his country, the United States, is not trying to achieve.

Feigold continued in an interview with Al Jazeera Net: “The willingness of the Europeans to increase spending is clear, but they should not get into a fight with the United States over percentages and numbers.”

Regarding Macron’s statements regarding strong security guarantees, according to the military expert, “the French president knows, as everyone in Europe knows, that without the support of the United States there will be no adequate security guarantees or effective results against the Russian threat.” Therefore, European countries cannot support Ukraine alone without NATO and the United States, according to the speaker.

According to media sources, today’s summit included Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Romania, Sweden and Belgium, in addition to Canada and Norway, which are NATO members, awaiting another meeting with all 27 countries to discuss the war in Ukraine by the end of this week.