Iruni Kalupahana JadeTimes Staff
I. Kalupahana is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Russia-Ukraine war
As tensions mounted and there was a question mark on U.S. support for Ukraine, European leaders gathered in London for a summit of crisis to obtain a legitimate peace plan and strengthen the continent's defense plan. The summit was overshadowed by the open rebuke of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by U.S. President Donald Trump as being thankless for United States military support. But UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer tried to bring the discussion back to realist diplomacy and project Europe as a force of stability in negotiations. With the help of French President Emmanuel Macron and other European allies, Starmer stressed the need for a strong security framework to deter future Russia aggression while projecting Ukraine's strength to negotiate at the negotiating table.
Among the major priorities of the summit was the use of a European armed force to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, "a coalition of the willing," to use the description Starmer adopted. Although he concurred with the notion that Russian President Vladimir Putin posed a threat to security, Starmer again emphasized his belief in Trump's sincerity towards making long term peace achievable. This policy depends on three elements: equipping Ukraine with better weapons to take a strategic position, embracing European security measures for better defense, and guaranteeing a US "backstop" to avoid a return of any Russian breach of any agreement. Despite the diplomatic efforts, tensions escalated following Vice President JD Vance's criticism of Zelenskyy, further complicating the unstable negotiation process and solidifying distrust regarding America's wavering dedication to European security.
With Trump's reluctance to make unambiguous U.S. security guarantees, European leaders upped their game to fill the leadership vacuum. Starmer's forceful style towards Washington, and Macron's insistence on European independence, signaled a drift towards more independent defense policy. This pressure was supplemented by rumors that Europe could free up €200 billion of frozen Russian assets to continue financing Ukraine's war effort. Analysts at leading defense policy think tanks warned that Friday's White House meeting was a substantial retreat, noting that Europe must assume greater agency in shaping the course of the war and gaining longer-term stability in the region.
Under greater defense rearrangements, the leaders of Europe vowed to increase defense spending, as the UK pledged by Starmer to increase its defense budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2027. The Prime Minister of Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, also reiterated this, pledging at least 3% of GDP in defense expenses to face the threat of Russian aggression. Macron reiterated the need for European unity, acknowledging that the United States was shifting its strategic focus to the Indo-Pacific. His call for a "more sovereign, more united, more independent Europe" testified to growing realization that Europe must build its own security framework to counter outside pressures and maintain its geopolitical influence.
Comments