European leaders rush to us to help Ukraine avoid “capitulation”

European leaders may have rushed to Washington, allegedly to throw President Zelensky’s protective hand and go to any repetition of the oval office in February.

But their true goal is to promote US President Donald Trump, which threatens long-term European security after a sharp change, of course, how best to stop the war in Ukraine.

Trump not only called for a ceasefire as a mandatory condition for talking about long -term peace, but also diplomats – made it clear that he did not intend to impose further economic sanctions on Russia.

In short, travel European government leaders – plus EU and NATO leaders – want to avoid not only confrontation but also surrender.

French President Macron was the last who used the word C, saying on Sunday: “There is only one state that offers peace that would be a surrender: Russia.”

Government heads require a great deal to cancel their schedules in the shortest possible time – especially in August – when some are on vacation.

The French leader enjoyed water sports on the Riviera. The Italian leader Georgia Meloni was in Greece.

But this was the scale of changing President Trump’s strategy after meeting with President Putin – and the next potential threat to Europe – that European leaders quickly changed their plans.

Officials say that Meloni first invited himself, and Macron followed him carefully, after which he became inevitable, and others had to go too.

Leaders spent the weekend, working on the phone, holding at least five separate group chats.

Their care was Trump’s decision to change diplomatic targets After meeting with the Russian leader in Alaska.

Some officials believe that the huge influence of these two decisions-which have overcome the months of the Western strategy. Both steps changed the US position more closely in favor of Russia.

“Things went very significantly and quite quickly to the schedule that no one expected,” said one European official.

“The US perceives this as a moment to hit while iron is hot. Our question is what we are trying to achieve here?”

They added: “The European position has long been that Putin needed to show a true desire to bypass the table and stop the war, and this involves the ceasefire. But from Friday we have moved from it. Now the question is how we can get out of today without an explosion. This is an extraordinary danger.”

The goal for European leaders, according to diplomats, is to move the White House thinking on two issues.

First, the idea that peace can be achieved simply by Ukraine by going to Russia. And two, which is not just about the future of Ukraine.

“This is fundamentally about the safety of our continent,” said one British diplomat.

In other words, any discussion on security guarantees – within the final transaction – will be about ensuring more broad safety of Europe, not just Ukraine.

This means that a convincing Trump in two things: one thing that issues about the territory and security guarantees cannot be divided, and two that security guarantees should be approximately more verbal and textual promises.

The US negotiators said to give Ukraine the non -defined NATO -style assurances that the West would come to the aid of Kiev against the future Russian aggression.

“Nobody understood what Trump meant about security guarantee,” one official said.

“He believes that he just says that Putin” does not attack “enough. This is not enough for Ukraine or us.”

Europeans are expected to claim that Ukraine’s safety will only be guaranteed that it will allow its army to remain strong, with long -term and significant military and financial support.

This includes American weapons acquired by Europeans and gifted Ukraine, as well as long -term Ukrainian access to US intelligence.

By definition, everything that excludes Russian requirements for Ukraine’s demilitarization.

The risk to Europeans today is that they push Trump too much, what he thinks he is mocking and that the meetings are bad.

The European delegation was assembled together at the last minute.

This is one official said, “Pretty difficult,” and some are different in how much Europe should take on the future security of Ukraine.

What role the future European force can “soothe” can play in post -conflict Ukraine, remains unclear.

Thus, the European goal today can be a slowdown in things and calm fever talks about land transactions that really need to be part of the end of the negotiations.

For someone it would be putting a cart in front of a horse.

Instead, European leaders can seek progress at a possible tripartite summit with Trump, Zelensky and Putin; carving of some wide principles of any future transaction; And how to talk about negotiations that determine the location and scope of any negotiations.

And first of all, whether it can happen only when a peculiar fire is agreed.