European leaders rally behind Zelenskyy in London after Oval Office clash with Trump
European leaders gathered in London for a high-stakes summit
on March 2 to reaffirm their support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy following a tense Oval Office confrontation with US President Donald
Trump, the Associated
Press reported.
The fallout from their meeting in Washington cast
uncertainty over the United States’ stance on Ukraine, making the London summit
a crucial moment for European leaders to strengthen their collective approach
to the war.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, hosting the summit at Lancaster
House, welcomed Zelenskyy and more than a dozen European leaders, including French
President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime
Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Starmer announced that the United Kingdom, France, and
Ukraine had agreed to work on a ceasefire plan, which they would later present
to the United States. The proposal emerged after discussions between European
leaders in response to the White House dispute between Trump and Zelenskyy.
While Starmer emphasized the need for a strong European
stance, other leaders reacted to the Washington fallout with mixed concerns. Meloni,
who has positioned herself as a key link between Trump and Europe, spoke with
the US president before arriving in London.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said military support for
Ukraine remained the only path to peace but hoped that Trump and Zelenskyy
could repair their relationship.
Tusk, meanwhile, urged Europe to recognize its own military
strength, stating that with 2.6 million soldiers, the continent surpasses the
US, China, and Russia in manpower and should act with greater confidence.
As the summit focused on Ukraine’s future, Macron reiterated
that Russia poses an existential threat to Europe, warning that if Putin is not
stopped, he will certainly move on to Moldova and possibly Romania.
His comments reinforced fears that a disengaged U.S. could
leave Europe to face Russian aggression on its own.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte urged Zelenskyy to rebuild
ties with Trump, arguing that the US remains essential to Ukraine’s security
and noting Trump’s past decision to supply Javelin antitank missiles as
critical to Ukraine’s defense.
The Kremlin reacted to the London summit with familiar
hostility. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed any talk of European
peacekeepers in Ukraine, calling it an escalation.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov suggested that Moscow and
the new US administration were aligned on key foreign policy matters, pointing
to recent talks in Saudi Arabia between American and Russian officials as a
sign of shifting relations.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
reinforced the need for Europe to strengthen its military capabilities while
continuing to support Ukraine, declaring that “the path to peace is strength”
and warning that weakness would only invite further war.
The summit, attended by leaders from France, Germany, Italy,
Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Türkiye, Finland, Sweden, Czechia, and
Romania, along with NATO and EU officials, marked a turning point in Europe’s
efforts to counter Russian aggression and ensure Ukraine’s long-term security.
With uncertainty over US commitments, European leaders
increasingly view their own military and strategic independence as key to
shaping the future of Ukraine and European defense.
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