European leaders promise greater defense, float Ukraine peacekeeping force in response to Trump

President Donald Trump’s pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and bilateral negotiations with Russia have spurred European leaders to offer promises to take charge of their own security and step up their defense commitments as they seek to keep the new administration engaged on the continent. 

Last week, President Trump shocked many European leaders when he appeared to blame Ukraine for provoking the war with Russia and labeled President Zelensky a “dictator” amid tense negotiations over a proposed mineral deal the administration views as a way for Ukraine to pay the United States back for its assistance. 

One of President Trump’s chief negotiators, U.S. Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, echoed these sentiments later, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper last weekend that the war was provoked, “and that doesn’t necessarily mean that it was provoked by the Russians” and suggested that talks with Ukraine to one day join the NATO alliance may have been responsible. 

“That didn’t need to happen, it basically became a threat to the Russians,” Witkoff.  

A larger role

Many European leaders reacted negatively to the Trump administration’s decision to meet with Russian negotiators last week in Saudi Arabia, warning that no lasting peace could be achieved by cutting the Europeans and Ukraine out of negotiations. 

Others however tacked a different course. French President Emmanuel Macron, who traveled Washington, D.C. on Monday in an attempt to bridge the gap, is leading a European effort promising to take on a larger security role on the continent to convince the Americans to stay engaged in finding a lasting peace for the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Macron visited the American capital on the heels of his own “emergency” European summit on how to end the three-year war in Ukraine. The meeting ended with no firm plans, but it helped forge a common message from European leaders. Macron brought assurances from the United States’ European allies that they are willing to do more to answer President Trump’s concerns, specifically about their own contribution to the continent’s defense. 

Macron reassured President Trump that Europe, and specifically France, shares the ultimate goal of peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. He also reiterated his warning that security guarantees for Ukraine are necessary for a “solid” peace, one that would stop conflict from erupting again after any brief pause in fighting. 

“I think our common objective…is to build peace and a solid and longstanding peace, and this is what we will discuss, obviously, because I have great respect for bravery and the resistance of Ukrainian people, and we do share the objective of peace, because we are very aware of the necessity to to have guarantees and solid peace in order to stabilize the situation,” Macron said after his meeting with Trump. 

Macron also said, on behalf of the European leaders, that Europe is willing to “step up to be a stronger partner, to do more in defense and security for this continent,” which Trump has long demanded since his first term in office. 

"indifferent to the fate of Europe"

Germany's Friedrich Merz who is slated to be the next chancellor following the country’s elections on Sunday, said that it might be time for Europe to seek “independence” from the United States on defense. 

“After Donald Trump’s statements last week, it is clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe,” Merz said in an interview, according to Politico. In the past, Merz has proposed a new defense alliance, separate from NATO, as U.S. engagement in Europe declines. 

“We must prepare for the worst-case scenario,” he said. “One in which American engagement in European security significantly declines.” But Merz does not necessarily see this as an existential threat to Germany’s alliance with the United States. 

In fact, Merz has floated several policies for Germany that may give Trump exactly what he wants: NATO allies that spend more on their own defense and take on a greater role in European security. For example, Merz has proposed a European security alliance separate from NATO that would take on issues vital to the continent’s security, but which are less important for the United States.

Merz made clear that he does not believe that any European efforts should replace the longstanding alliance with the United States, however, stating in an interview that he believes a strong stand by a united Europe could keep the United States engaged.

“Keeping our alliance with the U.S. intact is vital,” Merz said. “NATO is not just a military pact, it’s a political alliance built on shared values: democracy, open societies, and market economies. I sincerely hope we can continue to uphold these principles together.”

Italy

Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni, a strong ideological ally of President Trump, invoked shared values in a virtual speech delivered directly to Trump’s core supporters gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend near Washington, D.C. in which she urged conservatives to continue supporting Ukraine and work to secure a long-lasting peace with the cooperation of Europe.  

“You cannot defend your freedom if you lack the means or the courage to do so. Happiness depends on freedom and freedom depends on courage. We proved this when we stopped invasions, won our independences, and overthrew dictators,” Meloni said. “And we have done it together the last three years in Ukraine, where a proud people fight for their freedom against the brutal aggression.” 

Meloni said that achieving a “a just and lasting peace” requires it being “built with the contribution of all,” emphasizing that peace cannot be achieved without European cooperation. 

Her remarks also appeared to include a veiled warning to her ally, comparing a potential abandonment of Ukraine to President Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, from which his administration never fully recovered. 

“And I know that with Donald Trump leading the United States we will never again see the disaster we saw in Afghanistan four years ago,” Meloni said. 

Peacekeeping forces

France’s Macron and the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Kier Starmer reportedly have begun to develop a plan that would see 30,000 European peacekeepers deployed to Ukraine if a ceasefire is signed with Russia, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

In his meeting with Macron, Trump said he approved of the idea, likely seeing it as a way to provide security guarantees that Ukraine seeks without using U.S. troops directly. Macron and Starmer, who is set to visit Washington himself on Thursday, both believe that a U.S. “backstop” would be necessary to protect European troops in Ukraine and to deter Russia from violating a potential ceasefire. 

Trump gave no indication whether U.S. troops would be involved in the plan, but said he believed the European forces would be enough to secure the peace. 

“And a lot of the European countries, I think I don't want to speak for France, but I know that the [French] president's talked about doing that also, I think that'll be a very good day when we can go in as peacekeepers, as opposed to what's going on right now with everybody being killed,” Trump said. 

“And I don't think you're going to need much backing. I think that's not going to be a problem. Once an agreement is signed, Russia is going to get back to its business, and Ukraine and Europe are going to get back to their business. I don't think it's going to be a problem,” he said.