President Donald Trump’s steadfast march toward peace had leaders in Europe realizing their own “vacuum of leadership” as they gathered to devise a response to Russia-Ukraine negotiations.
Continuing the return of respect for America on the world stage, Vice President J.D. Vance pulled no punches when he addressed leaders at the Munich Security Conference late last week. Now, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio was set to lead a delegation with Russian counterparts Tuesday, European leaders hosted their own emergency meeting as they lacked an active role in peace talks.
“I think Europe is realizing that they have to come up with a plan, quickly, and on their own to be ready for whatever comes next,” vice president of external relations and senior fellow with the German Marshall Fund Sudha David-Wilp told The Hill. “There is a vacuum of leadership at the moment.”
The stance came as French President Emmanuel Macron invited leaders from Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the European Union to a discussion Monday to coordinate a response to Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
That response included Macron announcing, “We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine. To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians. Otherwise, there is a risk that this ceasefire will end up like the Minsk agreements…We are convinced that Europeans must invest better, more, and together in their security and defense–both for today and for the future.”
After bringing together several European leaders, I have just spoken with President @realDonaldTrump and then with President @ZelenskyyUa.
We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine. To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 17, 2025
While the French president went on to tout “their own agenda for sovereignty, security, and competitiveness,” Gabrielius Landsbergis, the former foreign minister of Lithuania, addressed the reality of the situation in Europe as he reported leaving Munich in a “low mood” with “dark thoughts.”
“People who say that Europe must be at the table should remember that to be invited, you have to matter,” he noted in a lengthy thread on X. “If Europe commits to money, troops and a European path for Ukraine, we will make our own table and Ukraine, Putin, and Trump can be invited. But time is running out.”
Expressing the potential role that China might take while fretting about expanded aggression from Russia, he went on to add, “I am fully aware that my suggestion leads only to blood, toil, tears and sweat. But we have done it before and we can do it again. The alternative is to rebuild the continent after another devastating war, and that would be much harder and take much more time.”
People who say that Europe must be at the table should remember that to be invited, you have to matter. If Europe commits to money, troops and a European path for Ukraine, we will make our own table and Ukraine, Putin, and Trump can be invited. But time is running out.9/17
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@GLandsbergis) February 15, 2025
I am fully aware that my suggestion leads only to blood, toil, tears and sweat. But we have done it before and we can do it again. The alternative is to rebuild the continent after another devastating war, and that would be much harder and take much more time.16/17
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@GLandsbergis) February 15, 2025
For his part, Zelenskyy told the press, “There must be a representative of Europe,” and railed that “Ukraine regards any negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine as having no results,” while calling for the European Union to dispatch an envoy to peace talks even as he pitched the formation of an “Armed Forces of Europe.”
“Ukraine is the first hurdle, but I think the larger topic still remains, how are Europeans going to envision a future security order?” posited David-Wilp as the European foreign policy expert told The Hill, “The mood was turning from bad to worse.”
Defense Priorities director of military analysis and senior fellow Jennifer Kavanaugh said, “Trump does see Putin as his counterpart, and does see the European leaders as lacking in sort of the geopolitical heft — which is true and partly their own fault.”
As Trump reminded leaders about their limited contributions to defense spending, the expert went on, “There will probably be a series of announcements by Europeans in the upcoming days to signal to the Americans that they are to be taken seriously — but also to reassure each other.”
In addition to Macron’s statement, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer proposed sending British troops to Ukraine to serve in a peacekeeping role.
Of course, amid the posturing from foreign leaders, Rubio said, “Ukraine will have to be involved because they’re the ones that were invaded, and the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well.”
His remarks came ahead of the Saudi Arabia meeting that would also include National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and as retired U.S. Army Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, expressed Saturday in Munich, “What we don’t want to do is get into a large group discussion.”
The remark suggested that European interests would be under consideration, but that European leaders would not be physically part of the negotiations for peace.
“At the same time, though, I don’t think it’s clear that the Europeans will be shut out entirely from the negotiations,” contended Kavanaugh.
