Donald Trump’s insistence that Ukraine officially recognise Moscow’s annexation of Crimea under a peace deal with Russia has suddenly confronted European capitals with an agonising choice: stick with Kyiv or side with Washington.
Some European officials fear differences over the Trump administration’s one-sided draft accord will put bilateral relations with London, Berlin and other capitals to the test, undermine transatlantic security and potentially derail a Nato summit in late June.
The Europeans have always been “in a weak position to stand up to the US”, said Jeremy Shapiro, director of the US programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “They’ve been trying to avoid it for that reason.”