For the Europeans, who’ve spent months making an attempt to persuade Trump that Putin bears full duty for the warfare, the obvious change of coronary heart additionally got here as one thing of a vindication of their very own efforts.
Speaking to reporters exterior the U.N. Security Council constructing, Europe’s prime diplomat Kaja Kallas appeared to welcome Trump’s submit as exhibiting a change of coronary heart. “He’s made a really robust assertion that we hadn’t heard earlier than so it actually exhibits we’re in the identical understanding,” she stated.
The submit may cheer European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who’s come beneath hearth in current months for being too accommodating of Trump, specifically for having agreed to a U.S.-EU commerce deal that was extensively panned as a “humiliation” for Brussels.
Now, her method appears to be like prefer it may need an opportunity of paying off, not less than as far as Ukraine is anxious. Meeting with Trump a couple of hours earlier than his Truth Social submit, von der Leyen caught to her components, saying “Trump is completely proper” on the necessity for Europe to divest from Russian power. “We’re on it,” she pledged.
Von der Leyen’s relationship with Trump has additionally advanced dramatically since he was first sworn in, stated an EU official who was granted anonymity to discuss EU-Washington relations. The European Commission president is now in frequent telephone contact with the U.S. president, utilizing the calls to alert him to, amongst different issues, Russia’s assault on the EU mission in Ukraine in addition to the difficulty of Ukraine’s kids kidnapped by Russia.
Trump had a “very in-depth” dialog with von der Leyen concerning the EU’s newest spherical of sanctions towards Russia on Tuesday, with the U.S. president exhibiting explicit curiosity in measures concentrating on Chinese property.
