BarcelonaNew high-level meeting in Brussels of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and several European Union leaders with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This time, however, the context is different. The return of Donald Trump and the weakening of Ukrainian troops have changed the scenario of the war and put on the table questions such as the eventual dispatch of peacekeeping forces of European allies on Ukrainian territory or how to prepare Kyiv for potential negotiations with Moscow.
However, the Atlantic partners are divided on the option of sending European troops to the war and the vast majority of Western leaders see it as premature. At the moment, the leader who has brought it up again has been the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who sees it as a necessary step to “find the path to peace”. He already proposed it last February and the rest of the allies unanimously opposed it. And this time, although not with the same force, most European countries have again shown themselves skeptical or, in the best cases, have avoided speaking out.
Macron put it back on the table last week in Warsaw accompanied by Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk. And on the same day and in front of him, the Polish leader ruled it out, at least for the time being. However, the Polish newspaper Republic revealed that Macron and Tusk did address the eventual dispatch of a 40,000-strong peacekeeping contingent in the event of a Ukrainian-Russian truce.
Beyond Tusk and Macron, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, also attended this Wednesday’s meeting in Brussels with Rutte and Zelenski; the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz; the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In addition, the British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has joined on behalf of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer.
In the same vein as what Rutte has expressed, most leaders prioritize “strengthening Ukraine so that it arrives strong” to potential negotiations with Vladimir Putin’s regime and downplay the options for Western allies to send troops to Ukraine in the short term. “First you need to define how to reach peace. […] Some are busy with the next step without the first being resolved,” Scholz responded this Wednesday, referring to Macron’s words. Instead, Defense sources citing British media indicate that London is considering sending British troops to Ukraine to help to train their forces.
In this regard, Rutte has asked to stop debating what a potential agreement with Russia should look like, as this could weaken Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table. “If we start arguing with each other now, we make it very easy for the Russians and they will watch it from reclining chairs and smoking a good cigar,” said the Dutch leader in a press conference.
In the same vein, Zelenski has asked for “unity” through social networks before the meetings he will have in Brussels this Wednesday and this Thursday at the European Council. “Europe needs a strong, united position to guarantee lasting peace,” wrote the Ukrainian president.
More military spending
The NATO Secretary General has also taken the opportunity to press the Atlantic partners again to increase military spending, both to continue helping Ukraine and to deal with possible attacks by other world powers. And, at this point, he recalled that Russia and China are increasing their defense spending at a faster rate than the partners of the Atlantic Alliance.
At present, NATO allies are required to spend more than 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, although there are several states such as Spain that have not yet reached this minimum. However, Rutte and the United States, who control in fact the Atlantic Alliance, they already want the rate to increase to 2.5% or 3%, according to diplomatic sources of the military entity. In this regard, Rutte has said that if NATO “remains at 2%” it is not clear that “in four or five years” it will be able to guarantee the security of all allies as it has been until now.
