AHEAD of the extraordinary summit of European Union leaders to discuss additional support to Ukraine in the long-stretched war against Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany have proposed a one-month ceasefire plan to carry on peace negotiations. The plan looks a quickly-drafted band-aid solution hammered due to the urgency to act faster following the spectacular showdown between Ukraine President Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and United President Mr. Donald Trump on Friday in the White House.

 

The heated exchange has upset all calculations of the European nations for a peace pact between Ukraine and Russia as the United States has emerged as a new bully in the theatre. The new ceasefire plan prepared by UK, Germany and France focuses on being a bridge to restore peace talks between Ukraine and Russia but there is a big shadow of Mr. Trump looming on the entire equation as the United States is out to extract its pound of flesh with favourable deals, without any interference of European countries. It is a dangerous reality now after the dressing down of Mr. Zelenskyy by Mr. Trump and his deputy Mr. JD Vance in full public glare. The new strategy looks a bid by the European countries to make a comeback into the bigger picture totally occupied by Mr. Trump at the moment. One thing that Mr. Trump has ensured with the televised tirade against Mr. Zelenskyy is keeping all the players involved in the peace process between Ukraine and Russia on tenterhooks.

 

The US President has told the world without saying a word that he would be the only voice in this deal and American terms must be acceptable to all. The strategy is fraught with many dangers but given the upending of traditional policies and norms of diplomacy by the maverick US President, there seems little room for logic. It was never an American policy to keep away its European allies. Being a patriarch of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the US was always at the forefront in leading the bloc of European allies in the grouping with more funding. However, the provision is now becoming an eyesore for Mr. Trump and his reluctance to take the European Union on board for the Russia-Ukraine truce deal is borne out of the same. In a way, by almost openly siding with Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin, Mr. Trump has made it an America vs Europe issue. In the instant future, the issue is set to unfold into a State vs State bickering as the US continues to berate the NATO, question defence funding by its members and their insistence on helping Ukraine.

 

The fact remains that the European countries and Ukraine cannot sustain the war against the mighty Russian forces without the help of America. It has handed a big leverage to Mr. Trump whose transactional diplomacy is in full flow in the second term. There should be no surprise if Mr. Trump uses the Russia-Ukraine peace deal to pressurise the NATO allies to pump more funding for the bloc’s forces and make the members purchase weapons from American companies. He has already threatened to quit the NATO over gross disparity in defence funding by its members. The warning is a message for the European countries to rework their budgets by keeping US interests at the centre of their thinking. It is a typical business tactic by Mr. Trump seeking more from the world to fulfill his promise of Making America Great Again. In this entire gamut, Ukraine and the ‘poster boy of resistance’ Mr. Zelenskyy are still left fending for themselves. He might have to come around and talk to Mr. Trump which will be a clear advantage to Russia. But then again, it is the Trump Way of diplomacy. The world has to brace for it.