That was a reference to Trump’s vicious verbal assault on Zelenskyy at the White House, which left European leaders wondering whether the U.S. still sees itself as an ally. Shortly after the stunning 15-minute scolding, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas even suggested that America no longer led the “free world,” and while the temperature cooled over the weekend, the nagging doubts haven’t gone away.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who organized the March 2 summit before the Trump-Zelenskyy spat, said on Sunday that Europe “must do the heavy lifting” when it comes to protecting Ukraine from Russian expansionism from now on, indicating the reality of a reduced American presence on the world stage.
After ingratiating himself with the U.S. president earlier in the week Starmer sees himself as something of a bridge-builder, and Britain along with France and Ukraine are now to draw up a peace plan and then present it to Trump — a marked change from previous assumptions that the U.S. would take the lead.
The prospective plan includes a U.K.-French-led peacekeeping force, which Starmer called a “coalition of the willing” — an echo of the U.S.-led group of countries that invaded Iraq in 2003. French President Emmanuel Macron said he floated the idea of a one-month cease-fire that would apply in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure.
Who else is in that coalition is still up in the air. “A number” of countries signed up to the peacekeeping force behind closed doors at the summit, Starmer said, adding that it needed U.S. backing to work. He declined to say which governments had committed.
He said the U.S. was still “a reliable ally” and that “we agree with the president on the urgent need for a durable peace, now we need to deliver together.”
