At the end of the meeting, the former reality TV star as also the present political star, Trump said: “This is going to be a great television”, perhaps pointing to the TRP rating that the programme got in those momentous 45 minutes, and Zelenskyy’s leaving the meeting in a huff without signing the minerals deal. But the live broadcast sent shivers into the European capitals and in one go, the entire EU leadership said in one voice that enough is enough: it is time to opt for a new leader for the free world without depending on the U.S. president Donald Trump. The entire EU leadership extended immediately their support to Zelenskyy’s stance that Trump is playing Russian President’s Putin’s game and he could not be coerced into an agreement on Trump and Putin’s terms.

The reaction of the White House meeting in which the Ukrainian president was bullied by both Trump and his vice president J D Vance, created big apprehensions among the European leaders. They felt that Zelenskyy is a leader of a European nation and if he was insulted by the free world leader in such a manner, the same could happen to any other European country-head who would disagree with Trump on any issue.

The first to convey his strong disapproval of the Trump leadership of free world was Kaja Kallas, the EU representative of foreign affairs and security policy said in a social media post: “Ukraine is Europe. We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they continue to fight back the aggressor”. She said: “Today it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It is upto the Europeans to take this challenge”. Kallas is the one official who is fully involved in the EU strategy on Ukraine and the arms supplies to that country to fight the Russians. She also interacted with the U.S. officials regularly in the last few months about the common policy on defending Ukraine. Her latest categorical stand against the U.S as the present leader of the free world has serious ramifications for the future security policy of the European nations.

Addressing Zelenskyy directly, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission, wrote: “Your dignity honours the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone.” She said that EU Commission would continue to work with Ukraine for a “just and lasting peace”. Ursula had just ended her visit to India at the head of the EU delegation to discuss trade and investment cooperation and the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement between EU and India. She had conveyed also to the Indian Prime Minister the possible change in the transatlantic alliance and how this should be beneficial for India in improving ties with EU.

The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House on Thursday and met Trump, though he could not persuade the U.S. President from his present stance on the Ukraine peace deal. Starmer extended his support to Zelenskyy by stating that Britain supports the path of a lasting peace based on the sovereignty and security of Ukraine. French president Emanuel Macron also said that Zelenskyy would be getting unwavering support from France. The other leaders from Germany like Olaf Scholz, as also the prime ministers of Norway, Denmark, Spain and Portugal extended their support to the stand of Zelenskyy against Donald Trump.

However, the European leaders who are known as pro-Trump, spoke in a different tone. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, known as an acolyte of Trump, spoke like a peacemaker between Europe and the USA. She called for an emergency meeting of the U.S. and its European allies as also Ukraine to sort out the issue. Hungarian president Victor Orban, a Trump fan openly supported peace formula by saying, “Strong men make peace, weak men make war.”

Now what next? President Zelenskyy is in a reviewing mood after leaving the White House meeting in a huff on Friday. Soon after, he said that he would not apologise to Trump as demanded by the vice president Vance, but he would be ready for another meeting. Zelenskyy knows that whatever bravado the European leaders are showing now in his favour against Trump, that is of not much consequence to him if U.S. withdraws arms supplies to Ukraine and boycotts Zelenskyy. So he will certainly move immediately for a rapprochement. He is looking for a face-saving formula with President Putin.

There is every possibility that the Italian prime minister will be encouraged to organize a meeting of the US, its European allies and Ukraine to discuss the Ukraine peace formula. Meloni is pro-Trump, so Trump advisers may not mind a Trump-driven solution steamrolled through such meeting. But will Trump agree to sit with his European allies on Ukraine issue since he has avoided that so long?

The far right global leader, the hardcore anti-communist, the protagonist of a free new world has turned a persuasive peace seeker, whatever may be his motivations. He is being opposed by the liberal Europe. The ‘imperialist’ Trump has become peacenik while Europe does not want to end the Ukraine war now. What a turnaround of diplomacy and history? The Marxists and left liberals throughout the globe have to do some brainstorming to explain this paradox in the behaviour of global capitalism in the third decade of twenty first century. They should seriously do that instead of churning out usual epithets about the crisis of imperialism and neo liberalism. (IPA Service)