WASHINGTON (TNND) — The Trump administration’s moves to bring an end to the war in Ukraine have prompted frustration and concern from America’s European allies that were left out of initial discussions with Russia and fears of a potential removal of U.S. troops from bases spread across the continent.
Top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss how to improve relations and negotiate an end to the war, without any Ukrainian officials present at the meeting. The meeting comes after European allies were surprised to learn about a phone call between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin and what the White House described as preliminary talks to bring the nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine to an end.
Preliminary negotiations about bringing an end to the war without European or Ukrainian diplomats present has brought new urgency for its leaders to come up with a new plan for its future.
“It’s had one good effect, and that’s to get these countries to unite and realize that they have to take care of their own business now,” said Ian Kelly, an ambassador in residence at Northwestern University and former State Department diplomat.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the “real talks” will involve Europe and Ukraine but comes after other top administration officials like Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance gave speeches and made comments harshly criticizing Europe for its political and defense policies over the last week.
Leaders of eight of Europe’s most powerful countries met on Monday in response to being caught by surprise with the Trump administration beginning discussions to an end of the war. During the meeting, they discussed what they are willing to commit to lock up a deal to bring an end to the war and how to keep the country secure in the event of a U.S. withdrawal.
“Europe’s security is at a turning point,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, wrote on X. “Yes, it is about Ukraine — but it is also about us. We need an urgency mind-set. We need a surge in defense. And we need both of them now.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that he had spoken with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Monday meeting and that Europeans would seek to accelerate their work to secure the continent and boost its defense capabilities along with seeking a deal to end the war with “strong and credible security guarantees” for Ukraine.
“We will work on this together with all Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians. This is the key,” Macron said. “We are convinced that Europeans must invest better, more, and together in their security and defense—both for today and for the future.”
Trump has been a longtime critic of American involvement in overseas conflict and has been questioning the level of U.S. support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion before he returned to office. Republicans in Congress have soured on continuing to spend tens of billions in taxpayer funds to help Ukraine that has created a gap in continued support even with the war still raging.
Trump has criticized America’s European and NATO allies for years for not spending enough on defense and accused them of taking advantage of the U.S., which has thousands of troops on bases spread across Europe. He has called on defense spending to hit 5% of gross domestic product, a measure no NATO members — including the United States — are reaching.
The war in Ukraine has prompted many European countries to increase defense spending as the region recalibrated its security posture as the result of Russia’s invasion and nearly two dozen have met or exceeded spending 2% of their GDP on defense.
Hegseth suggested in a speech during a trip to Europe that American’s military presence will not last forever and that European countries need to step up contributions to the region’s security. It came after he and other administration officials had floated ideas of European forces having to provide deterrence against any future Russian aggression and serve as peacekeepers once the war in Ukraine comes to an end.
“That’s why our message is so stark to our European allies — now is the time to invest because you can’t make an assumption that America’s presence will last forever,” Hegseth said last week in Poland.
What the security outlook is in Europe in a future without or including less American support has been disconcerting for its leaders and raised questions about whether they have enough military might to keep Russia from launching future invasions.
“The Europeans don’t have the economic capacity, or the military capability really, to be a real, credible deterrent. They don’t have the intelligence assets, they don’t have the force projection assets, and they don’t have the industrial capacity,” Kelly said.
