Date: 2025-05-14 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00028128
UKRAINE
USA (TRUMP) EXITS AND EUROPE STEPS UP
European leaders pledge support for Ukraine after
confrontational Oval Office meeting with Trump
USA (TRUMP) EXITS AND EUROPE STEPS UP
European leaders pledge support for Ukraine after
confrontational Oval Office meeting with Trump
A woman holds up a placard that reads 'Listen To Ukraine' during a pro-Ukraine protest
march through Berlin and a rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate, in Berlin, Germany,
March 1, 2024. Pro-Ukraine demonstration in Berlin ... Photo by Claudia Doerries/Reuters
Original article: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/european-leaders-pledge-to-stand-by-ukraine-after-confrontational-oval-office-meeting-with-trump
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
My American friends are not too happy with me. I am trying to be respectful of their political positions ... but the utter insanity that they are displaying in support of Trump drives me 'up the wall'.
I have lived in the United States since 1967. The United States has been good to me and my relatives. The USA is a very 'rich' country in many ways, but there are a lot of things that it lacks completely.
For most of my working life in the USA, i have focused on my work and my family without paying any attention to politics and the way the country is run. My working career was coming to an end when 9/11 happened. I watched the two planes crash into the Twin Towers the Northend of the Avenue of the Americas at 59th Street.
NATO invoked Article 5 or the treaty for the first and only time in support of the USA.
But Trump does not seem to understand anything about the value of allies. He seems to be a complete ignoramus as well as being greedy on behalf of himself and himself alone!
I hope ... but am not very hopeful ... that Republicans will step up and demand that Trump acts a the President of ALL the people of the USA, and not merely the few that 'kow-tow' to him. The indications are that Trump has no idea what a good President looks like.
If those with power do not get President Trump under control very soon, the future of the United States looks very bleek.
I grew up in the UK. There is some respect for the economic performance of the United States since the end of WWII ... now a period of some 80 years ... there is not much respect for much else to do with the United States.
Bluntly put ... a big part of the world 'plays nice' in any interaction with Americans because to do otherwise is not in ones economic interest. Since WWII, Americans have had more money and buying power than any other group ... so one has to do what is in one's own economic interest to survive and prosper.
Maybe this is about to change. The economic dominance of the USA is not 'needed' now in the way it has been needed in the past.
Countries outside the United States have been told in no uncertain terms that the USA will only do what is in the interest of the USA. Allies are 'on their own'.
My view is that the United States will be surprised. There is probably a lot more 'brain' and 'competence' outside the USA than there is inside the USA. A lot of the 'brain' inside the USA is temporary immigrant brain that will migrate away from the USA the moment the money and prospects are better elsewhere. By modern world standards Americans are poorly educated and cannot run a big nmodern economy with outside ehlp. When this outside help stops comming ... America will be in a huge mess.
I am British by birth, education and to a large extent, culture. The international behavior of the United States during my lifetime has been pretty obnoxious. I won't go into detail here, but it nags me that Americans have no idea how the country behaves around the world. I need to document this ... but it will have to wait for now.
The way Trump is behaving relative to Ukraine is part of a pattern ... and hopefully Trump supporters will call Trump out. I have never been a Trump supporter going back decades. I would not ... did not ... vote for Trump and cannot understand why he has not been incarcerated for his appalling behavior over many decades. This has been made possible by a legal system that is very different for the wealthy than for the poor!
I am impressed by the performance of Ukraine defending itself against Russian attacks ... how Trump gets to be a buddy of Putin infuriates me! How Americans voted for Trump is completely incomprehensible to me!
Peter Burgess
Mar 1, 2025 12:27 PM EST
Written by Stefanie Dazio, and Susie Blann, Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) — European leaders pledged late Friday to stand by Ukraine in the wake of the contentious Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with their statements in support of their neighbor on the continent ensuring a deepening transatlantic rift.
WATCH: ‘The only winner was Putin’: GOP Rep. Lawler says after Trump’s argument with Zelenskyy
European leaders already were shaken by Vance’s speech to the Munich Security Conference two weeks ago in which he lectured them about the state of their democracy. As prime ministers and presidents across the continent scrambled to respond, they have held a series of emergency summits to discuss security.
Another major summit is scheduled for Sunday in London, hosted by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. More than a dozen European and EU leaders, including Zelenskyy, will gather for a meeting meant to drive forward action on Ukraine and security.
Starmer spoke with both Trump and Zelenskyy on Friday and maintained his strong support for Ukraine, his office said in a statement.
“He retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine,” the statement said.
The European leaders’ comments Friday largely did not mention Trump or Vance, but rather sought to assure Ukraine of their support as the war with Russia enters its fourth year. Zelenskyy re-posted their comments on X, writing “thank you for your support” to each — likely a dig at the Trump administration.
During the extraordinary meeting Friday in Washington, Trump chided Zelenskyy after Vance, one of the administration’s most skeptical voices on Ukraine, said he was being disrespectful for debating Trump in the Oval Office in front of the American media.
“Have you said ‘thank you’ once?” Vance asked Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president said four times during the course of their exchange that he was thankful or had already expressed his thanks.
Trump then called off the signing of a minerals deal that he said would have moved Ukraine closer to ending its war with Russia. Zelenskyy left the White House shortly after Trump shouted at him, showing open disdain. The White House said the Ukrainian delegation was told to leave.
A senior Ukrainian official said Zelenskyy spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and President of the European Council Antonio Costa after he left the White House, describing all the conversations as “supportive” of the Ukrainian leader. The official, who is familiar with the matter, requested anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly.
Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni, however, proposed “an immediate summit” between the United States and European allies “to speak frankly about how we intend to face today’s great challenges, starting with Ukraine.” She urged the West to stay united.
“Every division of the West makes us all weaker and favors those who would like to see the decline of our civilization,” she said. “A division would not benefit anyone.”
Some posts on X were directed to Zelenskyy. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told him “your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President.”
And Friedrich Merz, Germany’s likely next chancellor, wrote: “Dear Volodymyr @zelenskyyua, we stand with #Ukraine in good and in testing times. We must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war.”
The victory for Merz’s party Sunday in Germany’s national election ensured that Ukraine has an even stronger supporter in the European Union’s largest country. Merz during the campaign promised to unite Europe in the face of challenges from both Russia and the United States.
But Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party and one of Merz’s challengers, wrote “Historic. Trump & Vance!” on X with a link to a video of the meeting. AfD’s platform calls for the immediate lifting of sanctions against Russia and opposes weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Weidel also met with Vance in Munich.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised Trump for his conduct in the Oval Office, casting Zelenskyy as working against peace in his own country.
“Strong men make peace, weak men make war,” Orbán wrote on X. “Today President Donald Trump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr. President!”
Orbán is a consistent backer of the Kremlin and has been outspokenly antagonistic against neighboring Ukraine. After winning the last Hungarian elections in 2022, less than six weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion, he cited Zelenskyy as one of the opponents he had defeated in the campaign.
Meanwhile in Estonia, which borders Russia, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said the only obstacle to peace is Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘s decision to continue the war.
“It is time for Europe to step up,” Tsahkna said in a statement. “We do not need to wait for something else to happen; Europe has enough resources, including Russia’s frozen assets, to enable Ukraine to continue fighting.”
And Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s reminded Ukraine of what’s at stake for the Nordic and Baltic countries, and others, if Russia’s aggression spreads.
“You are not only fighting for your freedom but also for all of Europe’s,” Kristersson wrote on X. European officials from Austria, he Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Spain, among others, also offered their support to Ukraine.
Blann reported from Kyiv. Associated Press writer Justin Spike in Kyiv contributed reporting.
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