Trump's call: Does direct overture to Putin betray Ukraine?

François PICARD | Rebecca GNIGNATI | Elisa AMIRI | Kethevane GORJESTANI | Anastasiya SHAPOCHKINA | Joachim BITTERLICH | Jean DE GLINIASTY

Edité par France 24 - 2025

What can Volodymyr Zelensky do or say as he meets in person with Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference? The likes of France insist they'll continue to honour bilateral security agreements with Ukraine – with or without the United States.

But by keeping out Russia's neighbours in Europe, is this the beginning of the end of the NATO alliance that kept the peace on the continent throughout the Cold War? With Trump wanting the Europeans to finance Ukraine's reconstruction, what do they ask for in return? What leverage do they have?

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

Note
  • How about that phone call? The US president has gone over the heads of the Ukrainians and the Europeans by promising talks "immediately" with Vladimir Putin, this on the same day that his new defence secretary told NATO counterparts that returning to Ukraine's borders of 2014 was "unrealistic". Donald Trump may not have forced a sit-down on Day One of his presidency, as he had boasted as a candidate, but here it comes.

Langue
anglais
Date de publication
14/02/2025
Collection
The Debate
Contributeurs
Kethevane GORJESTANI FRANCE 24 International Affairs Editor; Former Washington correspondent
Anastasiya SHAPOCHKINA President of Eastern Circles Think Tank and Lecturer in Geopolitics, Sciences Po
Joachim BITTERLICH Former German Ambassador to NATO (1998-99)
Jean DE GLINIASTY Former French Ambassador to Russia

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