A fewer twelve hours distant from answering the question they feared most: "Can they truly number on the United States?". It is at the beginning of the Munich safety Conference that Western allies are to learn the detailed assumptions of Trump's plan to end the Russian war in Ukraine.
But it's not over. Europe is to be presented with a post-war plan of force, in which the Americans will not play the function of guardians of the continent so far. This European part of NATO is to take on the burden of maintaining peace in Ukraine and across the continent. “Everybody looks at Munich,” says Lipavsky.
The officials of the continent will have their first face-to-face gathering with the fresh Trump administration on Friday at a gathering of defensive leaders known as the Munich safety Conference. The yearly event is usually reserved for strengthening alliances and repeating democratic ideals with likewise reasoning leaders.
Since taking office last month, president Donald Trump has offered small specifics on how he will approach the US's relations with European countries. However, he urged NATO members to importantly increase their defence spending, rejected the function of the American troops in Europe, froze abroad aid, advocated taking over Greenland, treated Russia as a negotiating partner and threatened to retreat support from Ukraine.
And while allies have experience in dealing with the disruptions and uncertainty of the president of the United States, the current administration is more expansive and aggressive than the 1 they had before.
"The rules of the game have changed," said François-Philippe Champagne, Canadian Minister for Innovation, discipline and Industry.
Searching for allies in the White House
Trump took office in a very different place than his first administration, which frequently had difficulty in developing a coherent worldview — even if American officials convinced Europe to focus more on its own defense. However, fresh weeks have shown that The White home is not afraid to usage possible territorial claims or customs as a negotiating tactic.
"We do not know what the United States will propose, so everyone looks at Munich," said Jan Lipavsky, Minister of abroad Affairs of the Czech Republic.
The allies besides have an eye on Vice president J.D. Vance, who will attend the conference and meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski.
Former Ohio Senator expressed scepticism towards American support for Kievbut has not yet presented a broader approach to abroad policy. He left out a gathering with Zelenski at last year's conference, telling reporters that he didn't think he would learn anything new.
European diplomats besides hope that the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the United States President's peculiar Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg — who will accompany the US contingent in Munich — will aid fill the gaps in European policy.
The White home did not respond to the request for comment. But Trump said on Wednesday he spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin About negotiations to end the war. The conversation that signaled a stunning change of strategy with Moscow is likely to be the main subject of this weekend.
Europe backed against the wall. The Americans are pushing
Secretary of defence Pete Hegseth signaled on Wednesday that the talks would likely include peacekeepers — only not American. Hegseth, speaking in NATO headquarters, called the “unrealistic” reasoning that Ukraine could return to its pre-war borders. He committed to maintaining the U.S. function in NATO, although he pressed his allies to increase spending.
Trump, in his erstwhile administration, He threatened to retreat from NATO unless the allies spent more in their own defense. His persistent insistence, along with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, helped force 23 of the 32 NATO members to spend the required 2% of GDP in defence.
Since then, he and Hegseth have raised the stakes, suggesting that NATO allies must devote 5% of their GDP to defence, which is simply a immense and almost impossible increase in relation to the amount that most of them presently spend — including the United States at just over 3%.
"The fresh administration felt it was moving into action with an advantage," said Catherine Sendak, head of the Pentagon's office for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia in Trump's first administration.
Some NATO officials admit that Trump is right about allies not investing adequate in their own security..
“Europe must wake up,” said Lipavsky, both in terms of expanding defence spending and deterring Russia. "Europe inactive has a long way to go... It's not easy to find that money in the country. But we must have these discussions."
However, any European diplomats uncertainty whether Hegseth's calls for the creation of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine wherever they appear.
“There is no real allied discussion” says 1 NATO diplomat who anonymously adds that Europe has always relied on the United States to carry out specified missions and is fighting to replace this leadership.
Officials besides anticipate specifics about the American plan for Ukraine and want a promise that Trump will play hard with Putin. any diplomats fear that the president of the United States strengthens Putin's strength by showing that he wants to make a deal.
And, possibly equally important, they follow the guidelines for a fresh U.S. attitude towards Europe.
Hegseth, in his remarks made in NATO headquarters, said priorities specified as China and securing the confederate border mean that "the strict strategical realities prevent the United States of America from focusing primarily on Europe's security".
