GuShiio.com ① Ukraine President Zelensky visited the British Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday and had an intimate interaction with British Prime Minister Stammer;
② The UK agreed to provide a £ 2.26 billion loan to Ukraine
③ European leaders will hold two meetings in the next few days to discuss where Europe should go after the “White House conflict.”
Cailian News, March 2 (Editor Shi Zhengcheng)After experiencing the humiliation of being kicked out of the White House by U.S. President Trump on Friday, Ukraine President Zelensky visited Downing Street in London on Saturday to perform a tender political performance with British Prime Minister Thomas Stamer.
According to British media summaries,Their meeting was full of performance elements from the beginning。
After the sky motorcade arrived at the Prime Minister’s Office,Stammer walked a distance from the door, opened his arms to meet Zelensky, and hugged Zelensky deliberately for a while。He also posted the tidbit on social media, with an accompanying article saying that “in action, not just in words, Britain and Ukraine will always stand together.”
(Source: X)
Sam Coates, deputy political editor of Sky News, said that Stammer had deliberately stepped forward, hoping that the world would see his image hugging Zelensky. Coates emphasized thatStammer, who was not a person good at physical contact, hugged Zelensky with open arms, a move intended to be seen by the whole world, especially the White House.
The subsequent meeting between the two did not have much to write about. Stamer emphasized to Zelensky that Britain has “absolute” and “unwavering” determination to achieve “the goal we both want to achieve, namely… a lasting peace in Ukraine based on sovereignty and security.”
Zelensky, who was scolded by Trump and Vance for “not knowing Shane” at the White House yesterday, also thanked Stammer and Britain for their support since the war.
As a substantive result of the meeting,Britain has agreed to provide a £ 2.26 billion loan to Ukraine, used to support Ukraine’s defense capabilities. On-site footage showed that under the watchful eyes of Stammer and Zelensky, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Reeves and Ukraine Finance Minister Marchenko held a video signing ceremony.
(Source: Marchenko Social Media)
According to reports from reporters on the scene,When Zelensky left the Prime Minister’s Office, Stamer personally sent him to the special car, hugged him again under the flash of the media, and then waved goodbye.
Stammer then picked up a photo of the two men warmly parting and posted it on social media.
(Source: X)
For Zelensky and Ukraine, Saturday’s “healing moment” couldn’t hide the bumps ahead.
The following Sunday, Stammer invitedThe President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, the Secretary-General of NATO, as well as French President Macron, German caretaker Chancellor Scholz and other European leaders came to London for a meeting, in preparation for the special summit of EU leaders on Ukraine next Thursday.
The core question European leaders will face is how to deal with the situation even when the United States has made it clear that it is unwilling to continue assisting Ukraine, and whether their own “transatlantic relationship” with the United States can continue.
According to reports,The EU plans to follow up on an emergency military aid package worth 20 billion euros at an emergency summit next week。But this is only the beginning. If they want to take back the responsibility of protecting their own security from the United States, they will need to mobilize hundreds of billions of euros of funds to invest in national defense in the next few months.
Considering that there are also countries among EU member states that oppose extending the conflict in Ukraine, it remains doubtful whether these large expenditures can be passed.
Graham Allison, a professor of government at Harvard University and a student of former Secretary of State Kissinger, told the media thatPresident Trump and his administration have posed a more fundamental challenge to the transatlantic alliance than in previous decades.Allison is also pessimistic that Europe can fill the security gap caused by the withdrawal of the United States, and expects “Ukraine will accept a bitter peace deal in late summer”。
At the same time, there is also uncertainty about the direction of the relationship between Ukraine and the Trump administration.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview with the media on Saturday thatHe has told Zelensky he needs to find a way to restore relations with U.S. President Trump after the conflict at the White House meeting on Friday, and he has reminded Zelensky of the need to “respect what Trump has done for Ukraine.”
When asked whether NATO allies would be able to fill the gap if the United States withdraws military support for Ukraine, Rutte did not give a positive response, but said: “Let’s move beyond this issue. The key is that we unite as one-the United States, Ukraine, Europe-to promote peace in Ukraine, which is what President Trump and all of us are striving for.”
The current answer is not clear about how U.S. -Ukraine relations and how the “transatlantic alliance” between the United States and Europe will develop. But there is no doubt that the answer to this question will be given whether the United States will completely stop military assistance to Ukraine in the future.
