There can’t be negotiations around Ukraine without Ukraine being at the heart of it,
History has shown time and again that appeasement fails,
There is a big worry that Trump is a clumsy negotiator, he will cede crazy things to Russia,
There will be a bilateral Russian-American track of this dialogue, and a track that will be related to Ukraine’s involvement,
Why are we giving them [Russia] everything that they want even before the negotiations have been started?”
The previous US administration held the view that everything needed to be done to keep the war going. The current administration, as far as we understand, adheres to the point of view that everything must be done to stop the war and for peace to prevail,
The peace dividend has to end,
We know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are,
3.4 per cent is a very robust investment, ... Ultimately we have our own budgetary considerations.”
The reason why European leaders are so hurt over Trump is that the U.S. has stopped pretending to see Europe as a meaningful player on geopolitical affairs,
We have to take into account that this is a family,
But there is a recognition that the ambitions of the Communist Chinese are a threat to free people everywhere, ... it makes a lot of sense … to use our comparative advantages: European countries spending here in defense of this continent against an aggressor on this continent.”
No decision has been made on troop levels [in Europe], that’s a discussion to be had by the commander in chief,
A majority of European countries do not want to lose face and are still not thinking in terms of the new Trump framework,
My message will be very clear that in this family, we are standing shoulder to shoulder … protecting and defending ourselves,
We always knew a call would happen soon and teams are consulting each other,
For decades, Europeans, as good USA vassals, required a certain decorum in how they were treated, at least publicly, as if it was an article of the feudal contract,
Pete Hegseth said in Stuttgart that there are no plans to reduce troop levels. At the same time, the U.S. [has been] quite irritated for a long time … that they’re spending more than NATO’s European allies and Canada, so we need to do more,
We knew something was coming, ... but not that.”
The biggest concern is that that would be seen essentially as a sign for Russia to do more and to go farther, because they don’t have to worry about the U.S.,