Donald Trump is becoming Europe’s greatest unitor since the end of the Cold War | Fabrizio Tassinari

sEven the Bible number, a number of people against ancient Rome, is also the number of lucky jerseys for Cristiano Ronaldo. Maybe now will also be the answer to the Henry Kissinger (probably pseudo-Scripture) question: What number would I call when I want to talk to Europe? Maybe the answer is seven, just like the number of leaders Sitting at the table On Monday in Washington, D.C. with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It’s hard to say whether there is any benefit at this stage from the impromptu White House summit, but European leaders as a group supporting Ukraine were the first. This seven-man format – NATO, the European Commission, France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Finland – truly speaks in a voice. They did so in the Ukrainian crisis, and over the past three and a half years they sometimes split up in the crisis (remember Emmanuel Macron’s early attention instead of “humiliation“Vladimir Putin?). However, Ukraine is also the archive of European leaders who merged and made the biggest impact in the same time frame: from 18 sanction packages EU has imposed Russia and negotiations to join Ukraine to begin Weapon supply Go to Kyiv.

In Washington, we see a rare and unprecedented but admirable European ensemble: countries from the north and south Europethe size of the two nuclear powers and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, both institutions are headquartered in Brussels but usually appear to live on two different planets. Despite withdrawing Britain from its core political entities, Britain and Europe have perfect positions.

For those like me who follow the chimera of European diplomatic and security policies over the years, witnessing these seven leaders, each for two minutes, was almost an epiphany, repeating the exact same message. To be sure, they have as many nuances as their English accents. Macron and his German rival Friedrich Merz insist on a ceasefire while Italy’s Giorgia Meloni Ukraine Based on Article 5 of NATO. However, everyone agreed to the need for Kyiv to ensure that the Transatlantic Front United must be guaranteed and the need for just and lasting peace.

As always, this puts the crisis at risk of European inertia. The direct start from last Friday Shameful summit Alaska between Trump and Putin. Trump shockedly violated the threat and final aatim against Russia, instead launching the red carpet For Russian dictators, we may never fully understand for reasons. Continuing on the weekend, the real risk is that Zelenskyy could be the victim of an Oval Office ambush again.

Paradoxically, we must thank Trump for his vanity, infidelity, his disdain for the ideals of liberalism and democracy, and his cynicism, as he brought Europeans the emergency signals they needed to rush to the Washington table. Trump may be destroying the remains of the West. But along with Putin, he unconsciously proved himself to be the “other” of Europe, the external force that shapes its collective identity, and thus has been the largest unifying member of Europe since the end of the Cold War.

Of course, the key issue is where all these shuttle diplomacy leaves Ukraine. For good and bad, momentum is building a concrete peace framework – despite no ceasefire, a clear tribute to Russia’s demands. The outline of the deal will involve illegal territorial concessions in four eastern Ukraine regions Annexed by Russia in 2022. Trump himself ominously presented these at his meeting on Monday Custom board drawing. The more the Ukrainian and Europeans merge with the inevitable franchise of land, the more they emphasize that the United States needs to provide “security assurances”, which are actually a collective defense assurance and are supported by military aid.,,,,, Similar to NATO’s mutual defense commitment. With the typical Trump transatlantic approach now, Europe has to pay for it. All of this, along with Russia’s long-term demands for a new security building in Europe in the future, are the subject of a highly-picked direct trilateral summit between Trump, Zelensky and Putin.

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, one of the seven people at the summit, had the greatest concern about how Europe works, and he liked to repeat: “First it’s crisis, then chaos. Finally, you came up with a suboptimal solution.” It must be hoped that this time Stubb was wrong: the formula discussed now was born out of tragedy, and most likely the best. But the stakes are rarely higher: if these conversations are followed by chaos, the consequences of the whole of Europe can be devastating.