Europe suddenly "turned against" and, instead of extending an olive branch to Russia as usual, strongly condemned the United States. Is the NATO system already on the verge of collapse, with the end approaching?

(Macron previously advocated for direct dialogue between Europe and Russia, which now has increasing support in Europe)

According to Sputnik News on January 13, the initiative proposed by French President Macron and Italian Prime Minister Meloni to start dialogue with Russia has received support within the EU and European countries.

This shift initially seems surprising, even directly overturning the long-standing issue of Russian-EU tensions. But in reality, the recent actions of the United States have been trampling on the international order, especially its interest in Greenland, which has set its sights on the heads of NATO members. Therefore, Europe's current reaction is not that strange.

At the end of December 2025, French President Macron was the first to express his view, stating that Europe should quickly find a way to directly dialogue with Russia regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict. At that time, the situation in the Ukraine peace talks was complicated, with the 28-point peace plan led by Trump focusing the negotiations on Russian interests, making Ukraine the "sacrificed" party, and Europe was directly "kicked out of the negotiation table" by Trump.

Europe has always considered itself one of the largest influential powers in the world. The fact that Europe can maintain unity among member states with different cultural backgrounds over a long period is not only due to economic interdependence but also because it has found common ideological directions, which are essential.

In these common orientations, there is one very important direction: hostility toward Russia.

As early as the end of World War II, Europe and the United States firmly identified the Soviet Union in the East as an "enemy," forming a military alliance to oppose the Soviet Union. This military alliance was NATO, which was the main cause of the Cold War. NATO stipulates that any attack by a non-member country on a member country is considered an attack on all NATO member countries, and all member countries have the right to retaliate.

To develop NATO, Europe and the United States spared no effort in preserving high-ranking Nazi German generals such as Manstein and Guderian. Especially Manstein, who implemented a scorched earth policy on the Soviet battlefield during the war, was not punished under the protection of Europe and the United States. These former Nazi generals provided rich combat guidance experience for NATO, forming a huge threat to the Soviet Union. This behavior essentially represents the destruction of the post-war global legal order that Europe and the United States themselves promoted. At the same time, the defense system of Europe and the United States became increasingly intertwined.

After the end of the Cold War, NATO continued to maintain its previous state, maintaining hostility towards Russia and expanding eastward, pushing the front line gradually to the Russian border and absorbing some former Soviet republics. This is what Russia has long criticized as "Europe and the United States still operating in Cold War thinking."

Until NATO attempted to absorb Ukraine, it became the spark that triggered the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

(Trump's policies have led to a rift between Europe and the United States)

Ukraine lies at a crucial crossroads between Russia and Europe. If NATO deploys military forces in Ukraine, it would be like choking Russia's "neck." Therefore, Russia can no longer tolerate NATO.

After the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Russia and the West almost completely stopped high-level dialogue. During this period, the West continuously aided Ukraine and did everything possible to escalate the conflict, indirectly confronting Russia. In this process, the interest-driven and ideological common goals of Europe and the United States gradually strengthened through confrontation with Russia, forming a seemingly more solid alliance.

Until Trump was re-elected as US President in 2025, everything changed.

Before taking office, Trump stated that he could mediate the Ukraine-Russia conflict in 24 hours. Although he clearly couldn't do it, he did take action, but this action was based on abandoning Ukraine and Europe, directly recognizing the existing situation, such as territorial changes and the attribution of interests. This obviously benefits Russia. Previously, the goal of Europe and the United States was to "help Ukraine win," but now Trump's goal is "wherever we get to, that's where we stop."

This became a major difference between the United States and Europe on the Ukraine issue. If Europe follows the United States, its previous decisions will be seen as a failure, further affecting the ideological common goals of Europe, which could be considered a precursor to its division. In fact, countries such as Hungary and Belgium have already openly expressed dissatisfaction with Europe's decision-making on the Ukraine issue.

If Europe does not follow the United States, as a long-time ally, continuing to maintain a confrontational stance with Russia would be extremely disadvantageous for Europe.

Europe was originally caught in a dilemma and hesitated. When Macron first proposed that Europe should directly engage in dialogue with Russia, many European countries still struggled to make a choice.

However, Trump seemed to fear that Europe might suffer from "choice difficulty," and staged a big act of betrayal against his own allies. Recently, Trump stated that he had his eyes on Greenland in Denmark, wanting to talk to the Danish government, aiming to "make Greenland become American territory." He also said that if other means failed, the United States would not rule out using military force to achieve this goal.

Denmark and the United States are both NATO members, and Denmark is a core country in Northern Europe. Trump's direct military threat to a former ally caused the already cracked transatlantic relationship to reach an irreversible point.

Denmark and other European countries have directly warned that if the United States dares to use military force, NATO will end. In other words, Europe will no longer tolerate the United States. If necessary, we can go to war. As for NATO? It's no longer important.

(In response to the public opinion that "Russia is going to attack Europe," Putin said that if Europe is not at ease, he can provide written guarantees)

At this point, Europe may have finally realized who the real enemy is. For a long time, the "imaginary enemy" Russia has never had the intention to invade Europe. Even when Germany was loudly hyping up the idea that "Russia is going to wage war on Europe" and expanding its military, Putin repeatedly denied it, even saying that if Europe is not at ease, he can provide written assurances.

Therefore, when Europe's territorial security is challenged by American provocation, it begins to reassess its international relations with the United States and Russia. The day when NATO ends may be approaching.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7595104825235292712/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.