Trump shakes trans-atlantic alliance with Russia pivot; Europe in shock

European leaders scramble to salvage transatlantic alliance as Trump shifts focus to Russia, leaving Europe vulnerable and uncertain.

Donald Trump’s sudden shift on Ukraine has shaken the transatlantic alliance to its core. Now European leaders are crossing that same ocean in a desperate bid to shore it up.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet Mr. Trump separately at the White House this week to try to convince him to stick by Kyiv.

But fears are growing in European capitals that the bond forged from the ruins of Second World War is on the verge of collapse as Mr. Trump pursues talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In Mr. Trump, many see a President who has abandoned the traditional U.S. view of a rules-based world order in favour of a nationalist, great power game with Moscow and Beijing.

That has caused panic on a continent that has relied on U.S. security assurance for 80 years.

“The Europeans are running around with their hair on fire,” Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia programme at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said.

For his part, Mr. Trump insists that he is just seeking peace in Ukraine.