Freidrich Merz canceled meetings to urgently call Ukrainian President Zelensky and the European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron.
In a report on Thursday, Spiegel reported that in the call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders, France’s Emmanuel Macron warned that the United States could insist that Ukraine make territorial concessions to Russia without guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression.
“There is a chance that the U.S. will betray Ukraine on territory without clarity on security guarantees,” he said, according to the magazine.
In the call that took place on Monday, Germany’s Friedrich Merz warned Zelenskiy that U.S. negotiators are “playing games” and that he should be “very careful” over the next few days, the Spiegel report said.
“The President did not express himself in these words,” Spiegel quoted the Élysée as saying.
The real problem is they don’t want the war to end unless they win it all. They want Ukraine in NATO and that’s one of the reasons the war started in the first place. The Europeans want us to fight their war for them. They don’t have armies to speak of and nothing to back up their demands.
Der Spiegel has obtained the transcript of a crisis phone call between Merz, Macron, Stubb, Volodymyr Zelensky and others on the peace talks. They deeply distrust the US negotiator. The feeling is mutual.
How It Went
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Zelensky during a now leaked call: “You need to be extremely careful in the coming days. They [the Americans] are playing games, both with you and with us.”
Emmanuel Macron: The U.S. might “betray Ukraine on the issue of territory”
Alexander Stubb: “We must not leave Ukraine—or Volodymyr—alone with these guys.”
Mark Rutte: “We have to protect Volodymyr.”
I’m not saying I like what I heard of “the deal” but if Europe wants to run the show and have a say in any peace deal, they should step up with the big bucks and hardware as Autopen forced us to do.
Ukraine is losing vs russia, expand your reading
If Europe wants to buy American weapons and give them to Ukraine, and America has the weapons in abundance and can spare them, great. It creates jobs for Americans. It helps our trade exchange. The US needs to stay out of the war, and out of Ukraine. Maybe out of Nato. The American voter should get an opportunity to vote… Read more »
Other than commerce, we have no effective alliance with those 3 nations. But there are lots of European nations on our side. (Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, Belorussia, …) in opposing escalation of the war. The enemy in this war is globalism. They caused the war, they want to escalate the war. British, German and French leaders are all globalist agents.… Read more »
It’s not a conspiracy at all. Trump’s foreign policy with respect to Ukraine is a redux of Neville Chamberlain and Hitler from 1938. Peace at any cost with dictators like Putin is just encouraging the next war.
That’s silly. Germany had every right to get the Sudetenland back. It’s lots like Russia had every right to get back Crimea and the Eastern republics, because they are Russian and were being mistreated. And, there was no reason for Britain and France to declare war on Germany, after Germany and Russia invaded the aggressive Poland. Poland had already taken… Read more »
The EU is facing collapse and needs to rob Russia of territory and resources to continue its march towards totalitarian fascism. It’s can’t fight Russia; it is far too weak. So the solution? Get Ukraine in NATO, invoke article 5, get Russia and the US to destroy each other. The EU is politically run by half wits and controlled by… Read more »
Project much Ivan?
Someone brings up the Neville Chamberlain narrative, and we are supposed to think that there is some intellectual strength there. No sale.
That is a good summary.
US needs to withdrawal from NATO and tell the EU and Ukraine you are on your own. No more US taxpayer money for any of them. Time to rebuild the old USA.
Remember he did it last time, this time CONgress wrote a law he cannot remove us sadly.
So let the entirety of eastern Europe to the tender mercies of Russia/Putin. Yes screw western Europe but not the east.
That’s propaganda language.
Most of eastern Europe wants no part of the war and does not fear invasion. Poland’s new leader is anti-war. Traveling south down to Moldavia and Romania, there may be some sentiment to support the war there.