Former Prime Minister Carl Bildt of Sweden has accused Russia of working with the US to undermine the position of Ukraine.
“I think what the Russians are doing right now, apart from looking in a kind of pure disbelief … is that they increase both political and military pressure on Ukraine,” he said 7.30.
“They do this to a certain extent in collaboration with the US to weaken the Ukrainian position prior to the critical meetings.”
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin talk during the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Vietnam in 2017. ((Getty Images: Mickhail Klimentyev))
Mr Bildt, who is also the co-chairman of the European Council on foreign relations, told 7.30 European leaders and the Trump government now pursued opposing strategies to end the war in Ukraine.
“The most important thing – and here is the gap about the Atlantic Ocean – is that Europeans are convinced that the only way ahead is to increase the support for Ukraine and to strengthen the pressure on Putin, while the Trump team seems to believe that they can illuminate and be nice for the Russians and the pressure on Okraine.”
Carl Bildt is co-chairman of the European Council on foreign relations and the former Prime Minister of Sweden. ((Reuters: Laurent Dubrule))
Mr Bildt says that transatlantic relations have never been so worse after US President Donald Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zenskyy of respect for America and “gambling with the Second World War”.
“We are certainly at the worst moment of the Transatlantic Alliance … for a generation,” Mr Bildt said 7.30.
Donald Trump and JD Vance argue with VolodyMyr Zenskyy in the White House. ((Reuters: Brian Snyder))
“We have never seen anything like that, because it is a collapse of the relationship, about a matter that is fundamental to the safety of Europe.
“There have been crises earlier … where Europe was divided, but here we have almost the whole of Europe on the same side and we are bold mat against what we see happening in the White House.”
European leaders in Ukraine
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on the European leaders on Plus Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to London to discuss ways to restart the negotiations. The UK and France have proposed a temporary ceasefire “in the air and at sea”.
Mr Bildt said that supporting Ukraine to defend himself against the aggression of Russia was the priority.
European leaders gathered at a top in London to discuss the war in Ukraine. ((Java Parsa via Reuters))
“It is a very long front line. It will require a strong defense by Ukraine and the Ukrainian army has shown that it is very capable,” he said. “But it requires money.”
Mr Bildt said that like -minded countries, including Australia, should continue to support Ukraine.
“What I hope will come from the continuation of the London meeting is a broad coalition of the willing, European and other countries – Canadians, hopefully Australians, Japanese and others who are willing to give that support to Ukraine, so that Ukraine will be able to defend himself after a kind of stuff,” he said.
The UK and France have proposed a temporary ceasefire “in the air and at sea”. ((Pool Via AP: Justin Tallis))
Asked whether the behavior of the Trump government offered instructions about how it would respond to a change in the status quo in Taiwan, Mr Bildt said there was no clear answer.
“What we would like to have is a really reliable and responsible American global power,” he said.
“We currently have no reliable, responsible American power.
“That introduces an element of uncertainty in our security calculations. It can turn out to be ok, it can be disastrous, but we just don’t know.
“It is a deeply unpredictable United States that we are currently dealing with.”
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