Three days after Donald Trump’s calamitous encounter with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the sight of a hastily assembled delegation of European political heavyweights arriving at the White House underlined how grave the consequences could be. Rarely has a single presidential performance so unsettled allies while emboldening an adversary. The Americans may have intended the summit to signal progress towards ending the war in Ukraine. Instead, it left Europe scrambling to limit the damage.
The source of alarm is obvious. Trump reversed his recent insistence that any peace process must begin with a ceasefire. He also appeared willing to entertain Putin’s demand that Kyiv surrender territory it currently controls. To many, this looked like capitulation to Russian aggression and a betrayal of Ukraine.
Monday’s emergency transatlantic mission brought Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Washington flanked by some of the most senior figures in European politics. Their presence was designed both to bolster the Ukrainian president and press Trump to reaffirm positions that had been cast aside in Anchorage. Chief among these was the need for credible and durable security guarantees for Ukraine, without which any settlement would simply invite future Russian aggression.
European leaders who reconvened again yesterday will have been aware that the vague Anerican assurances they received are not worth very much. But they will have been somewhat reassured that principles so recklessly discarded were at least partially restored. The price for this modest success was an unedifying spectacle of European politicians flattering and fawning over a president who appears to relish the rituals of deference more than the responsibilities of leadership.
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All the same concerns remain, though. Trump had, in recent months, inched towards a more considered stance on Ukraine. That he could be swayed so abruptly by Putin confirms European fears about his longstanding admiration – bordering on obsequiousness – for the Russian leader.
The path ahead is now uncertain. The Kremlin responded to the Washington meeting with a position paper that repeated the aggressive demands that accompanied the full-scale invasion in 2022. Trump believes he can engineer a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy. Perhaps he can, though it is far from clear that the Russian would countenance such optics with a man he has so persistently sought to delegitimise.
For now, the war grinds on with contining airstrikes on civilian targets, and Kyiv’s stretched resources facing a slow but relentless Russian advance in the east. By drawing Trump into his worldview, Putin has deflected pressure for harsher sanctions, unsetttled European capitals and undermined Ukrainian morale. He has reason to view the week’s work as a strategic success.
