Trump will not have business as usual with Europe

According to Michael Desch, “it is also clear from Secretary Hegseth’s remarks that President Trump regards post-war Ukraine as a European issue

“US President Donald Trump is showing Europe that Washington will no longer do business with it as before, said Michael Desch, Director of the Notre Dame International Security Center in Indiana.

Commenting on the telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, as well as the Pentagon chief’s speech in the Belgian capital, the expert said: “President Trump campaigned on the platform that the time is here to end the Ukraine war.

The discussion of no return to [Ukraine’s] pre-2014 borders is telling in terms of the administration’s thinking about the acceptable parameters of a negotiated settlement.”

The direct contact between the presidents indicates an ‘immediate’ start to negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on an end to hostilities.

Secretary Hesgeth’s statement signals the reduced priority for the [US] administration of European affairs [including Ukraine]. It is also clear from Hegseth’s remarks that President Trump regards post-war Ukraine as a European issue.

“Among recent American presidents he (Trump ) has seemed more open to Russian concerns and visions for a European security order than many others. Given that, the Trump administration seems to be telegraphing that it is no longer business-as-usual in Europe,” said Desch said.

In a telephone conversation on February 12, Putin and Trump discussed, among other things, the prospects for a settlement in Ukraine.

According to the Kremlin, Trump expressed support for an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful settlement.

Putin, for his part, mentioned the need to address the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peaceful negotiations, the Russian leader’s press service said.

The US leader wrote in the Truth Social network that Moscow and Washington would immediately start negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

Speaking in Brussels at the regular meeting of the Western contact group coordinating arms deliveries to Kiev, Hegseth emphasized that a return to Ukraine’s 2014 borders was unrealistic.

He also effectively ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO and warned Europe that it should be in charge of its own security, according to the Trump administration.