The day after the meeting in which Vladimir Putin reiterated his demands for an end to the Ukrainian war to American negotiators, the NATO Secretary General summed up the situation frankly.
The aggressive Dutchman, Mark Rutte, said on Wednesday (4), “There is only one person in the whole world who is able to break this impasse. This person is US President Donald Trump.”
The head of the Western military coalition is right, but the natural result of this assertion may not be greater American pressure on Russia. At this point, it seems easier for Trump to give in to Putin’s position or leave Ukraine and its European allies in the lurch.
In any case, Europe’s inability to confront the crisis is clearly evident, as constrained leaders rehearse questionable responses.
On the same Wednesday, the European Union presented a plan to support a loan that will cover Kiev’s expenses over the next two years with 1.3 trillion Brazilian reais of Russian foreign exchange reserves frozen on its territory.
The vast majority of resources are located in Belgium, contrary to the mechanism for fear of being subjected to prosecution. Russia denounces the measure as theft and promises revenge, while the EU is trying to outmaneuver members who oppose it by invoking a fictional emergency clause to suppress the unanimity requirement.
It is not certain what might happen, but the cracks in the European edifice are clearly visible. The same can be said about the definition of ending Russian gas purchases by 2027, announced on the same day, and which Hungary and Slovakia oppose.
None of this will bother Putin or Trump now, especially with the Russian autocrat demonstrating his belief in military advances to discredit Ukraine and render it neutral. The Russians have shown resilience in the face of sanctions, and only the most radical measures taken by the Americans can have any impact.
But the US President does not show any desire to do so, despite his warning against Russian oil companies last month. From this perspective, the resistance thesis is formed.
Trump stopped the flow of weapons to Kiev and forced the Europeans to buy them from the United States if they wanted to continue aid. The continental defense industry is unable to cope with the scale of war, as evidenced by countries’ rush to rearm.
Germany abandoned its pacifism after World War II to embark on a plan that includes military projects worth more than R$2 trillion. NATO sees war with Moscow by 2030, and perhaps sooner. Time is against the Europeans.
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