Even if Donald Trump praised his phone call with Vladimir Putin on the highest tones – the reaction from Europe was shocked on Monday evening and Tuesday. For more than a week, the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President of France, tried to move the American president to a heavy attitude towards the Russian president in many phone calls in many phone calls. Apparently in vain.
Transatlantic telephone diplomacy has never been revived at such a high level. But then Trump came up again in the two -hour conversation with the Russian president, because Putin apparently made him vague commitments for negotiations with attacked Ukraine. According to the participants in the conversation, Trump did not want to know about the common sanction path that Americans and Europeans had focused on Sunday evening. Instead, he praises Russia as an “important trade and business partner”. He quickly instructed Ukrainian President Wolodyymyr Senskyj that he had to communicate with the aggressor Russia.
Minor reactions from Europe and Ukraine
Accordingly, the reactions of the Europeans involved and especially the Ukrainians fail. After all, Chancellor Merz emphasized almost challenging on the X platform: “Europe will increase the pressure on Moscow due to sanctions”. In reality, however, it was all about damage limitation – in different areas.
“If we lose Trump as a partner, there is much more at stake than Ukraine, the regular NATO,” warned an EU diplomat. Europeans must also continue to support Ukraine in their defense against Russia – if necessary without the United States. “But that is very difficult at the moment,” emphasized another EU diplomat and referred to the previous enormous poor deliveries of super power. On Monday it was in any case able to ward off that an increasingly disinterested US government lowers the deliveries of exploratory and intelligence data for Ukraine, you comfort yourself in European capitals.
String for unity and credibility in Europe
Thirdly, the EU government heads must struggle for unity and credibility in Europe. Because during their joint visit to Kiev, Merz, Macron, Strander and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a strong message sent to Moscow: from last Monday, unconditionally -the Fires should actually apply. Only Russia no longer stopped them, but even strengthened his drone attacks on Ukraine. So Europeans started working on new sanctions to maintain their credibility. But because this takes time in the EU, the criticism has already been delegated. “Merz brought a real start and then he ran completely against the wall. I think that no one will take it seriously in the Kremlin for months. He can say sanctions five times and nobody believes him”, the German left co-party leader Jan van Aken mocked on World TV on Tuesday.
Because Europeans know what is at stake, the 27 EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs decided to enter into force on Tuesday of the 17th EU sanction package against Russia, which, for example, offers measures against the Russian oil shadow fleet. At the same time, preparations for a considerably more difficult 18th sanction package are promoted, which must be directed against the Russian energy and bank sector. It is still in the stars or the EU countries as Hungary close to Russia. In any case, the hope for a similar US Sanction package that has been promoted in the US Congress has already evaporated. Trump announced on Monday that he would definitely make a veto on Monday. On Tuesday, Trump noticed: “We look at many things, but we will see,” he told reporters when he was asked if the US would also impose sanctions after the EU.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
