NEWSMAX | Published February 16, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Saturday for the creation of a European army, saying the continent could no longer be sure of protection from the United States and would only get respect from Washington with a strong military.
He also said Kyiv would never accept any deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war made behind its back, and predicted Russian President Vladimir Putin would try to get U.S. President Donald Trump to Moscow’s May 9 World War Two victory anniversary parade “not as a respected leader but as a prop in his own performance.”
In an impassioned speech to the annual Munich Security Conference of global policymakers, Zelenskiy said an address by U.S. Vice President JD Vance the previous day had made clear the relationship between Europe and the United States was changing.
Let’s be honest – now we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it,” said Zelenskiy, speaking as the war triggered by Russia’s invasion of his country will soon enter its fourth year.
“Many, many leaders have talked about (a) Europe that needs its own military and army. An army of Europe. And I really believe the time has come, the armed forces of Europe must be created.”
“He said a European army — which would include Ukraine — was necessary so that the continent’s “future depends only on Europeans — and decisions about Europeans are made in Europe.”
He continued: “Does America need Europe as a market? Yes. But as an ally? I don’t know. For the answer to be yes, Europe needs a single voice, not a dozen different ones.”
Trump administration officials have made clear in recent days that they expect European allies in NATO to take primary responsibility for their own defense as the U.S. now had other priorities, such as border security and countering China.
They have also said, however, that they remain committed to the NATO transatlantic military alliance.
“America needs to see where Europe is heading,” Zelenskyy said, “and this direction of European policy shouldn’t just be promising, it should make America want to stand with a strong Europe.”
Trump shocked European allies by calling Putin this week without consulting them beforehand and declaring an immediate start to Ukraine peace talks.
Zelenskyy told the conference that he believed it would be “dangerous” if Trump met Putin before he and Trump meet.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants to come together with the United States and Europe to devise a joint strategy before any Trump-Putin meeting.
The Trump administration so far has left the impression among some European allies that it was making concessions to Putin at Ukraine’s expense before any negotiations begin, though remarks by some top U.S. officials have raised confusion.
He also warned European leaders that their countries could be next to face a Russian attack.
“If this (Ukraine-Russia) war ends the wrong way, he (Putin) will have a surplus of battle-tested soldiers who know nothing but killing and looting,” he said, citing intelligence reports indicating Russia will dispatch troops to close ally Belarus, another neighbor of Ukraine, this summer.
European nations cooperate militarily primarily within NATO but governments have so far rejected various calls for the creation of a single European army over the years, arguing that defense is a matter of national sovereignty.
Zelenskyy argued that Europe building up military strength would be good not only for security but also for the continent’s economy. “This isn’t just about stockpiling weapons, it’s about jobs, technological leadership and economic trends for Europe.”
A senior official from an eastern member state of the European Union cast skepticism on Zelenskyy’s proposal for a European army, saying: “There is a European military force called NATO.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also told Europeans to get their acts together — but on Ukraine talks.
“And to my European friends, I would say, get into the debate, not by complaining that you might, yes or no, be at the table, but by coming up with concrete proposals, ideas, ramp up (defense) spending,” he said in Munich.
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SOURCE: www.newsmax.com
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Europe faces a desperate race to agree on plans for Ukraine’s security following J.D. Vance’s blistering attack on the bloc’s values
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST | Published February 16, 2025
The groans and the anxious side glances gave way to silence as US Vice-President J.D. Vance took centre stage in Munich to pour contempt on long-standing US allies and cut Europe down to size.
It was an attack of unbridled ferocity in the name of free speech that laid bare the long-stewing hostility that Donald Trump and his most senior aides feel for the European Union – they see the bloc as a symbol of big government that constrains US companies.
But as European diplomats from Berlin to London pick through the rubble of the transatlantic relationship, the reality is that the continent has had eight years since Trump’s last election victory to get its house in order and three since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The wake-up call was a long time coming.
“This is existential,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where Vance had been speaking.
French President Emmanuel Macron is looking to convene an emergency meeting of European leaders in an attempt to come up with a response.
Europe’s fate has turned on events in the Bavarian capital before, and not only in 1938 when the UK acquiesced to Adolf Hitler’s claims to part of Czechoslovakia in a doomed attempt to avoid war.
The illusion that Vance shattered was the belief, deep down, that the US would always be there to step in when needed, from World War II through to the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
“When I look at Europe today, it’s sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War’s winners,” Vance said. His disdain for Europe’s mainstream politicians was clear when he ducked out to see the leader of Germany’s far-right AfD party.
US officials told some Europeans in Munich that they believe America and China are the two big powers in discussions over Ukraine, even though the war is in the EU’s backyard, one European official said. The US will keep the Europeans abreast on progress but they are not seen as significant players.
One veteran official said that Vance’s attack during his debut abroad was a watershed moment because it was such a fundamental attack on Europe’s values. It did not matter that European nations were dependent on the US for security when they shared the same basic principles, the official said. Without that common understanding, liberal democracy in Europe is at risk.
Europe now finds itself in a desperate race to agree on plans for Ukraine’s security in the event of a peace deal with Trump already rushing into negotiations with Russia. The US president is planning to see Vladimir Putin as soon as this month.
The fear for many officials gathered for this year’s conference is that by dialling back support for Ukraine, Trump is inviting Putin to test Nato’s willingness to defend the alliance’s eastern borders.
“If Putin continues, there will be a Nato test,” Tsahkna said.
