President-elect Donald Trump seeks major changes to US foreign policy as he speaks to EU leaders on European security matters
US President-elect Donald Trump is wasting no time in his push to revamp Washington’s policies on Ukraine, even though his inauguration is still months away, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
One unnamed former Trump administration official told the agency that the Republican will “have an immediate head start thanks to the perception that he will be tougher than his predecessor.” He added that some US adversaries could change their behavior without waiting for the president-elect to be sworn in, as they might be “deterred by the threat of US retaliation,” while others could try “to exploit their remaining leverage before President Joe Biden leaves office.”
© Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
According to Bloomberg, the shift in the wind is “felt most acutely in Ukraine,” given that Trump has promised to settle the conflict within 24 hours if elected, even before his inauguration. The president-elect and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky have already had a phone call, with X owner Elon Musk – a Trump ally who has advocated for Kiev to cede territory to Russia to end the conflict – also reportedly joining in.
The heads of some EU member states have tried to persuade US President-elect Donald Trump to continue funding Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources.
“Trump has been noncommittal on Ukraine in the calls, mainly listening and asking questions,” the WSJ reported on Friday, citing anonymous officials briefed on the conversations.
EU leaders taking part in the European Political Community summit in Hungary this week appear to be divided on Ukraine, according to the newspaper. At a dinner on Thursday at the parliament in Budapest, leaders from the Baltic states and Scandinavia urged the bloc to step up their support for Kiev if Washington pulls back. French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni seemed less enthusiastic.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the host of the summit, has urged Trump to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine as soon as possible. Slovakian PM Robert Fico has spoken out in favor of peace as well.
Speaking to reporters after the dinner, European Council President Charles Michel told reporters that the bloc has tried to persuade Trump that being “weak with Russia” would send a wrong signal to China and the rest of the world. The day before, Macron reportedly asked Trump to secure “real concessions” from Russia in any talks over Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and US President-elect Donald Trump. © Alex Kent/Getty Images
On Thursday, Macron told the summit that “our interest is that Russia doesn’t win this war… Because if it wins, that means that there will be an imperialist power lined up on our borders.”
Finnish PM Petteri Orpo said the summit needed to “give a clear message” to Trump that “we support Ukraine as long and as much is needed.”
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky told the EPC summit that he did not yet know Trump’s plans, but that Kiev should “decide what should and should not be on the agenda for ending this war.” He also demanded from the EU the roughly $300 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets if the US cuts him off, claiming the money “rightfully belongs” to Ukraine.
As the WSJ acknowledged, however, Ukraine is “overwhelmingly dependent on foreign military assistance and budgetary support” from the West.
The US has given the Ukrainian government $106 billion since the conflict escalated in February 2022, including $70 billion in military aid, and spent another $70 billion funding “various US activities associated” with Ukraine. The EU has contributed a total of $133 billion in financial, humanitarian, refugee, and military assistance. Norway and the UK, which are in NATO but outside the EU, have also spent billions.
Moscow has ruled out a freezing of the conflict, insisting that all of the goals of the military operation – including Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification – must be achieved. Nevertheless, Russia has signaled that it is open to talks aimed at resolving the crisis.
Source X/RT/AFP