Ukraine war: Europe can only set limits on Trump in one way

WAZ Ukraine war: Europe can only set limits on Trump in one way Christian Kerl • 38 million • 2 minutes reading time The Europeans are rightly outraged by Donald Trump's solo effort in the Ukraine peace negotiations. But the fact that European heads of government had to rush to a crisis summit in Paris to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine at short notice is also due to their own failure. Since Trump's election victory, it has been clear that Europe would soon be faced with the question of how to organize security guarantees, i.e. essentially a peacekeeping force to secure a ceasefire. It was also clear that the EU would only get a seat at the negotiating table if it made its own contribution. Now Trump is putting pressure on them - and the Europeans are again making a bad impression: divided, hesitant, helpless. This must stop. Germany and its neighbors must be honest: Europe has a special responsibility when it comes to the security order on its eastern flank - if the Union shirks its responsibilities, it would be the ultimate dwarfing of itself. It goes without saying that the German army must not be sent on a mission that leads to a war with Russia. The participation of the USA in a peacekeeping force is essential, but it would be even better to involve other states. Whether this will succeed is as open as the agreement on a ceasefire. But Germany, as the largest EU state, cannot simply duck away in advance. The sooner the Europeans declare what they themselves are prepared to do, the more emphatically they can make demands and confidently confront Trump: The fact that the US President wants to dictate peace to Ukraine and then leave the clean-up work to the Europeans alone is completely unacceptable.