Trump, Europe, Ukraine and Russia
Will Europeans ever understand that our American allies also have their own interests, which do not always coincide with those of Europe?
Donald Trump seems to want to leave Europe with the task of resolving the situation caused by the Russian aggression in Ukraine. This is understandable.
But it would be a mistake if, he were covertly to come to an agreement with Russia first.
From the Yalta and Potsdam Accords to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum (which vainly guaranteed Ukraine's borders in exchange for its denuclearization), via the 2008 war in Georgia, the logic of state interests and distance have led our American allies often to avert their gaze from serious events in our immediate vicinity, right up to the quasi-green light given to Putin prior to his 2022 invasion. And tomorrow...
We shouldn't be surprised. Geography has its laws, as does geopolitics, which establishes the primacy of national interests.
For Europeans, the challenge of peace in Ukraine is also an American one. They cannot accept the reintegration of Russia into the concert of nations that would be represented by an American-Russian agreement without being party to it.
Any other solution would be unacceptable and dangerous. The revisionism, expansionism and imperialism of the Moscow regime constitute lasting and recurrent threats to peace on the continent. Europeans must be prepared to face up to these threats, and only they can protect themselves.
At a time when there is talk of a ceasefire and negotiations to put an end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, it is up to Europe to clearly express its conditions, in partnership with Ukraine, which it has supported financially more than anyone else, and to which it has offered concrete acts of rapprochement, up to and including integration.
In no way does this call into question the Western alliance of democracies, but it does clarify its rightful place, which demands a sense of responsibility on everyone's part.
For Europe, the key to lasting peace is now.
For that, perhaps it will be able to demonstrate its unity?
