Europe offers to speed up rearmament to save Trump's support in Ukraine

LondonEurope jumps through the hoop of a Donald Trump more aligned with Moscow than with Kiev. The leaders of more than fifteen countries met in London on Sunday to build a strategy to support Ukraine that would lead to a lasting peace and, in an attempt to involve the United States, they promised a significant increase in the defense budget and to present a plan to President Trump. Without the "accelerated and massive rearmament of the continent" that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has spoken of, there is practically no chance of obtaining the "security guarantees" that Volodymyr Zelensky is asking for with the support of the United States.

While a ceasefire is not reached, if it is achieved, the countries participating in the summit, plus the European Union and NATO, have agreed that they will maintain the flow of military aid to Ukraine and that they will continue to increase economic pressure on Russia. They have also strengthened the idea that Ukraine's sovereignty must be guaranteed and that Kiev must be present in hypothetical negotiations with Moscow. And, regardless of whether an armistice is finally reached, their defensive capabilities will continue to be strengthened to prevent any future Russian aggression. The country's sovereignty in energy matters will also be reinforced.

In addition, the host of the meeting, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has ratified, at the end of the meeting, his commitment to contribute to the formation of a peace force "with troops on the ground and planes in the air" when the fighting stops. Starmer has assured that "France and others" will participate in what he has called the "coalition of willing states." But he has not gone further and has left the possible announcements of the participating countries to their respective heads of government. More than three hours after the meeting, no country has specified anything. Neither has the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez. "Not all nations will be able to get involved directly," Starmer continued, "but that cannot mean inaction. Those who are willing must urgently start planning. We are at a decisive moment in history; this is not the time for more talk, but for action. It is time to step forward, lead and unite efforts behind a new plan."

La Moncloa limited itself to sending a statement assuring that during the meeting "no plan has been specified, but important progress has been made." Spain has committed to continue participating in the "strategic reflection to achieve a path to peace as soon as possible" in Ukraine.

The premier He insisted that "Europe must take on the main responsibility for ensuring peace on our continent," which must start by "putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position" to be able to negotiate under the best conditions. But Starmer also admitted that "for the plan from London, Paris and others to be successful, this project must have strong support from the United States. That is why we are working closely with the United States."

Asked about Washington's hypothetical involvement, which President Donald Trump is very reluctant to do, Starmer said that he spoke on Saturday night and that the Republican would agree with this formula: "I would not take a step in that direction if I did not believe that it is an action that will give a positive result to ensure that we move forward together - Ukraine - Europe, Europe. And the lasting peace that Starmer, Macron and Zelensky want needs US cover.

Plan to rearm Europe

And if the United States is to end up playing the game, the European Union must be the main financier of the next chapters of the struggle with Moscow, as Trump wants. Not in vain, at the end of the meeting, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that next Thursday she will present at the European Council meeting a "comprehensive plan on how to rearm Europe."

"One thing is very clear," Von der Leyen continued, "we need a significant increase in defense. We must take a step forward. And we need a clear and ambitious plan from the European Union, both for member states and for common European defense initiatives, such as advanced air shields. We need a focused plan." And to support the economic effort that this will entail, "it is also necessary that member states have greater fiscal space to increase their defense spending." In other words, more debt for having more weapons. However, at least two countries of the 27, Viktor Orbán's Hungary and Robert Fico's Slovakia, have already shown their disagreement with the most common position in Brussels to align with Trump's rapprochement with Vladimir Putin.

If in the following days the outline of the plan from London and Paris ends up materializing, and Washington accepts it, it could redress the rupture that took place on Friday in the White House between Trump and Zelensky, following the the ambush of which the president was a victim

The big question remains, however. Will the United States be involved in protecting hypothetical European forces on Ukrainian soil? Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General, has put it this way: "Can we get the United States to commit to these security guarantees? The visits last week by the French President and the British Prime Minister have helped to move this discussion forward. I myself had a very positive call with President Trump last Thursday. But the debate continues, and we Americans must work in parallel to ensure that we are prepared." In other words, Rutte is advocating the same idea of rearmament at a forced pace that von der Leyen has advocated.

Meloni's key role

Before the start of the meeting of European leaders, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held a bilateral meeting with Starmer. The reason is that the premier He wants to involve her in the project with Macron and possibly with some other country to stand up to Trump. Meloni maintains a very close relationship with Trump and Elon Musk, and London understands that it could also play a relevant role in softening and convincing the American president. Meloni also expressed this shortly before arriving at Downing Street: "It is very important to avoid the risk of the West being divided. And I believe that in this, the United Kingdom and Italy can play an important role in building bridges [with Washington]."

Meloni has also called for a summit between the United States and the European Union. A very unlikely meeting, given what Trump said this week, stating that the EU was created "to screw" the United States. Another lie from the president, since the Union was founded to prevent more wars on the continent. In addition, it is known that the Republican does not believe in multilateral relations. He much prefers bilateral ones.

Meloni also met with Zelensky before the summit. From the Ukrainian president's words in X it can be deduced that Rome could participate in the peace initiative promoted by Macron and Starmer. Zelensky has written that the meeting has been "productive" to bring forward a "joint plan to end the war with a fair and lasting peace."

Apart from all the difficulties involved in getting European allies to agree, another problem, and a very serious one, is Moscow's opinion. Once again, this Sunday the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has contradicted Donald Trump, that in the presence of Macron Lavrov said on Monday that Putin would have no problem accepting the presence of Western troops in Ukraine.

Lavrov has praised Trump for saying "frankly" that he wants to end the war in Ukraine, but has called out Europe for trying to "continue" the conflict. Speaking to Russian state media, he also warned Ukraine's "arrogant" allies not to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. "The West cannot explain what will happen to the territory of Ukraine if European peacekeepers are deployed." A veiled threat and a new demonstration that the The real axis that operates now is Putin-TrumpSo much so that in his speech to the Russian media Lavrov said: "For the past 500 years it has been the Europeans who have fuelled the conflicts." No reference was made to US imperialism during the 20th century, and even less to that of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.