“The security guarantees that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is demanding from Trump would indeed be the key to ending hostilities, at least for some time. Hope for stabilization in Eastern Europe will only last if Russia is sufficiently deterred. — wrote Nikolas Busse from “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
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The commentator emphasized that this conclusion comes from the Cold War, which too many people in Germany have forgotten. “The Soviet Union was kept in check not thanks to the policy of détente, but thanks to NATO troops. The policy of appeasement only encourages Putin to pursue a policy of expansion, and agreements with the Kremlin cannot be trusted,” we read in the commentary.
According to “FAZ”, Trump's consent to guarantees for Ukraine corresponding to Art. 5 NATO, would be a “surprising turn” because the US president has a problem even with guarantees towards partners within the Alliance. The newspaper emphasized that the American leader's digressions referring to Europeans indicate the direction in which the US president is heading.
Trump wants guarantees that “are largely based on a British-French coalition of the willing, at best with America at the back.” Would European capitals, including Berlin, really be ready for this? – asks the commentator, pointing out that this would have to be pushed through against Putin's will.
After the meeting with Zelensky, Trump admitted that his efforts for peace might not be successful and praised the support of Ukraine by Europeans, who also do it in their own interest, noted “Sueddeutsche Zeitung”.
Trump confirmed what Merz, Macron and others are trying to convince their own societies – that “helping Ukraine is, above all, helping ourselves.” “The war in Ukraine and the negotiations to end it will determine Europe's chances for a peaceful future,” said Daniel Broessler, the author of the commentary in “SZ.”
The American demand that Europeans must take the main burden of guaranteeing security is completely justified, as is the demand that Europeans take responsibility for their own security, says the commentator.
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In his opinion, the decisive role will be played by “the potential that Europe will put on the line” – in the form of military and financial support for Ukraine, participation in security guarantees and pressure on Putin. Europeans have “got their foot in the door”, which “results in optimism, but is nothing more.” The future, not only of Ukraine, depends on how quickly Europe can overcome the military independence and find answers to threats from the East and West. Russia is arming itself and conducting a hybrid war, Trump is reaching for Greenland, and MAGA ideologists are expanding alliances with the far right, Broessler concluded.
The lack of results from the meeting in Florida should be considered a success, because Trump's goal is the capitulation of Ukraine, and this would be an introduction to an even bigger war, said Alan Posener in “Die Welt”. In his opinion, the success is the work of two people – the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz.
Zelensky has learned to cleverly deal with Trump's whims and blackmail attempts. Merz, together with European partners, and above all British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, strengthened the position of Ukrainians by granting them a loan of EUR 90 billion – we read in the German daily.
Some “deals” are so bad that it is better to reject them. The agreement on Ukraine without security guarantees is one of such agreements, said Ulrike Herrmann from “Tageszeitung”.
The guarantees are intended to prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine again after peace or a truce. No progress has been achieved in this matter, the commentator noted.
“Without long-term security guarantees, every room is meaningless,” says Herrmann. Knowing that Putin could attack at any time would make no one want to invest in Ukraine. The country would not be rebuilt and would have no future prospects. Such a peace “would not be peace, but a devastating wait for another war.”
As bitter as it sounds, the best option for Ukraine and Europe right now is to continue the war rather than wait helplessly. Europe is rich enough to lend and support Kyiv. Only when Ukrainians consider the security guarantees sufficient will this war be able to end, concluded the author of “Tageszeitung”.
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