Description: In line with the scheduled Tuesday meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, European leaders met in Paris on what was deemed as an urgent Ukraine strategic meeting. US President Donald Trump has isolated EU and NATO from the initial diplomatic approaches with Russia which received strong negative perception on the potential future of post – war Ukraine. The meeting was emphasized by the opposing statements from various EU leaders, which attested to EU’s discoordination on the Ukraine question. NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte reassured the allies that in case peace talks commence in the near future, Ukraine and EU would have their place at the table.
Impact: The urgent meeting between EU leaders in Paris can only be perceived as a desperate diplomatic maneuver by EU countries and scrambling for a unified front despite massive discoordination in policy and response. The US has secluded Europe from further diplomatic endeavors and the Trump administration has sent a strong message that Europe needs to elevate its level of preparedness and involvement in international relations without the support of its biggest ally. The potential peace talks couldn’t in factuality isolate EU countries from the negotiating table, however, the dissolution among western allies only benefits Russia which has already drawn the first line in the diplomatic sand, by reasserting Vladimir Putin’s request from Jun 2024.