A leading European Union official is cautioning against allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to exploit divisions within the longstanding U.S.-Europe alliance amidst Trump’s efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
“Clearly, any Ukraine peace deal excluding Europe is doomed,” EU policy chief Kaja Kallas stated from South Africa. “A united Europe and U.S. are stronger; Putin’s trying to fracture that unity.”
“Let’s not play into his hands,” she added.
Kallas’s remarks followed a Tuesday night call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, the U.K., Italy, and Germany, discussing U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, where Washington agreed to restore diplomatic ties with Moscow, reopening embassies and resuming geopolitical and economic engagement.
European concerns are growing over the Trump administration’s push for a Ukraine war resolution, with neither side present during the talks.
“When they say ‘this is our war-ending plan,’ it raises questions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Wednesday after meeting with Turkish President Recep Erdoğan. “Where are we in these negotiations? This war is in Ukraine. Putin is killing Ukrainians, not Americans.”
“We seek a just, lasting, and sustainable peace,” he added.
While Rubio clarified afterward that Ukraine, Europe, and Russia must participate in any ceasefire agreement, some of Trump’s comments have fueled European anxieties.
“We need American strength, not concessions, to end this war on Ukraine’s terms,” Kallas told Digital. “Giving Putin Ukrainian territory is a losing strategy.”
Kallas, along with other European leaders, criticized Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine hold presidential elections—impractical during wartime.
“Elections in Ukraine are impossible amidst Russia’s daily attacks, displacing millions,” Kallas said. “Let’s not forget Russia hasn’t held a free election in 25 years.”
Kallas, who told Digital she proposed increased EU military aid to Ukraine this year, argued, “Kyiv needs to negotiate from a position of strength.”
Reports suggest European leaders were to meet in Paris on Wednesday, following a Monday meeting of leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, and the U.K. after the Munich Security Conference.
Despite concerns about Putin dividing the West, Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” argues the Trump administration’s approach isn’t a sign of abandoning allies.
“The U.S. isn’t turning against Europe,” she said. “NATO had a decade to prepare for and deter this war.”
“For years, my colleagues and I briefed top European military and intelligence officials on the Russian threat, to no avail,” Koffler said, recalling warnings in 2013 before Russia’s 2014 Crimean invasion. “NATO ignored the threat for a decade, failing to develop a counter-strategy to Putin’s Playbook.”
“Trump’s shifting Europe’s protection responsibility to Europeans,” she added, noting the West’s existing divisions due to some NATO members’ unmet defense spending commitments.