Quotes
We can do it the easy way, or the hard way ... It’s time to ‘MAKE A DEAL’.”
In a social media post last month, Trump wrote
I hate to say it, but he’s down at 4% approval rating".
The US president falsely claimed
Mr. Trump is in the middle of executing one of the most jaw-dropping pivots in American foreign policy in generations, a 180-degree turn that will force friends and foes to recalibrate in fundamental ways."
The consensus opinion is best summed up by Peter Baker of The New York Times
It is difficult to put into words what an about-face this is for US support for Ukraine, which for years was built on helping the country defend itself, though not win the war,
The Guardian's Andrew Roth wroteEurope can no longer fully rely on the United States to defend our shared values and interests.”
The leaders of the center-right European People’s Party, the Socialists and Democrats, the liberal Renew Europe and the Greens declared
This War is far more important to Europe than it is to us,
Trump wrote on social mediaWe now have an alliance between a Russian president who wants to destroy Europe and an American president who also wants to destroy Europe,
another European diplomat observed in recent days, declining to be identified discussing sensitive mattersWe were not fully satisfied with the wording of the assessment of the United States in the text … Now is the time for calm, measured dialogue and a focus on pragmatic solutions.”
A spokesperson for the European Conservatives and Reformists group, which includes Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, explained why it didn’t sign the joint statementUkraine’s security is Europe’s security,
the parties saidHe wants Europe to take more responsibility for its security to strengthen NATO,
the official saidNothing will stand in our way because we are Americans,
Trump saidThe reality is this current crop of Republicans regard Russia and Ukrainians as sort of equal,
he saidTrump’s statements are not intended to be historically accurate but to shock Europeans into action,
he said
It is clear that any deal on Ukraine that doesn’t involve Europe will fail,
EU policy chief Kaja Kallas told Fox News Digital from South Africa
I am not a politician, but I understand that this Trump does not bode well for us,
she told Reuters in Riga
The foreign policy of the United States scares me a lot,
she told Reuters in WarsawIt is disturbing to me that Putin and Trump, or vice versa, have really got along,
he saidI had this feeling of stability, and after Poland joined NATO, after it joined the European Union, I thought we had this moment of peace, but it turned out that it really was just a moment,
she saidEuropeans need to help by being in the background of those negotiations, saying, If this doesn't work, we're going to take further action that you're not going to like. Now, that's a very uncomfortable thing for Europeans to do, but it's very necessary.”
He added
Russia has always tried and will continue to try to drive a wedge in our relations, but we hope for the wisdom of our peoples and governments."
Quote from Kyrylo Budanov