 "Why Donald Trump's Ukraine plan has Europe worried")
US President Donald Trump’s call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin has left Europe shaken.
On Wednesday, the two leaders talked about ending the war and visiting each others’ nations.
Then, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth went to Europe to warn leaders that the time of relying on America’s assistance was over.
But what happened? Why is Europe worried? What are leaders saying?
Let’s take a closer look:
What happened?
Trump on Wednesday spoke to Putin for more than an hour.
Trump said they talked about “getting a ceasefire in the not-too-distant future.”
“He wants it to end. He doesn’t want to end it and then go back to fighting six months later,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I think we’re on the way to getting peace. I think President Putin wants peace, President Zelenskyy wants peace and I want peace. I just want to see people stop getting killed,” he added.
The Kremlin had said Putin and Trump had agreed to meet, and Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow.
Trump said their first meeting would “probably” take place soon in Saudi Arabia.
Trump also had a separate call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy spoke after Trump’s call with Putin.
Zelenskyy’s office said the conversation lasted for about an hour.
“I had a meaningful conversation with @POTUS. We… talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together …and Ukraine’s technological capabilities… including drones and other advanced industries,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
As per Indian Express, Hesgeth told European leaders that the idea that Ukraine’s borders would revert to the pre-2014 status quo – when Russia launched an invasion of Crimea –is unrealistic.
Hegeth also implied that Ukraine ought to abandon its bid to become part of Nato.
“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” Hegseth told a meeting at Nato headquarters in Brussels. “Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”
Trump too talked down Ukraine’s ambitions of joining Nato.
“I don’t think it is practical to have it, personally,” Trump was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
“I think long before President Putin, they (Russia) said there’s no way they would allow that. They have been saying that for a long time that Ukraine cannot go into NATO… And I am okay with that,” Trump added.
Why is Europe worried? What leaders are saying?
Leaders in Europe have been left shocked by the developments.
European leaders released a joint statement in the aftermath of the calls.
“Our shared objectives should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength. Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations,” seven European countries and the European Commission said, as per The Guardian.
“Ukraine should be provided with strong security guarantees. A just and lasting peace in Ukraine is a necessary condition for a strong transatlantic security,” the statement read.
A number of European leaders also chimed in.
“There will be no just and lasting peace in Ukraine without the participation of Europeans,” French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
Germany’s Annalena Baerbock and Spain’s Jose Manuel Albares Bueno both told the meeting that no decision on Ukraine could be made “without Ukraine.”
“We want peace for Ukraine but we want an unjust war to end with a just peace,” Albares Bueno said.
Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said “continued cooperation with the US” was discussed.
“There is no better guarantee for the security of our continent than close transatlantic cooperation,” Sikorski said.
Indian Express quoted UK defence secretary John Healey as saying that “Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks.”
German defence minister Boris Pistorius added that it “would have been better if the US had not given concessions to Russia before the negotiations even started.”
What do experts think?
They say Europe is in a new paradigm when it comes to security.
“Trump’s agenda isn’t about European security: it’s that he thinks the USA shouldn’t pay for European security,” Nicholas Dungan, founder and CEO of CogitoPraxis, a strategic consultancy in The Hague, told CNN. “This isn’t a new era of transatlantic relations, it’s a new era of global big-power relations replacing the deliberately institutional structures of the liberal international order.”
“The US position on Ukraine as articulated today should surprise no one in Europe: it’s just what European insiders have been saying to me off the record, in back channels, behind the scenes for two years: West Ukraine and East Ukraine, like West Germany and East Germany but in this case – EU Yes, NATO No,” Dungan added.
Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt said he is concerned.
“The disturbing thing is of course that we have the two big guys, the two big egos … believing that they can maneuver all of the issues on their own,” Bildt said. “For European ears, this sounds like Munich. It sounds like two big leaders wanting to have peace in our time, (over) a faraway country of which they know little. They are preparing to make a deal over the heads of that particular country. A lot of Europeans know how that particular movie ended.”
As per The Guardian, Ukraine has suggested keeping that security forces from several countries – around 100,000 to 150,000 – keep the peace after a ceasefire announcement.
However, Zelenskyy has made it clear that the US needs to be involved.
Besides, Europe simply doesn’t have the manpower.
“Europe cannot field a force like this right now,” a senior European diplomat told the newspaper. “But we cannot force the US [to commit troops]. So we must accept this and figure out what we can do.”
Another senior European diplomat described Hesgeth’s remarks as ‘premature surrender’ and wondered what would be left to negotiate.
The diplomat said this position would only embolden Russia to demand more at the bargaining table.
With inputs from agencies
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
