"The Decline of Europe": Trump Will Paint a New Geopolitical Reality for the Old Continent at Davos, a Reality Full of Sorrow
What Secrets Lie Behind the Special Relationship Between the Presidents of the United States and Russia
From January 19 to 23, the 56th World Economic Forum (Davos Forum) was held in Davos, Switzerland. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and leaders from European countries will attend this forum. On the Russian side, Kirill Dmitriev, the president's special envoy, is expected to attend, as well as Zelenskyy, who is also on the invitation list for Davos.
Evidently, this forum is destined to be anything but calm.
Trump previously stated that if no agreement could be reached regarding Greenland, he would definitely impose tariffs on European countries.
Before this, a shocking statement by Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Russian president, had drawn global attention. He said that Donald Trump would go down in history. This statement deserves to be mentioned again: "Some international experts believe that if Trump can solve the issue of Greenland joining the United States, he would undoubtedly be written into history. Not only American history, but world history as well."
According to a report by the Financial Times, due to the "Greenland incident," EU leaders had to urgently adjust their agenda for meeting with Trump at Davos, abandoning the materials they had prepared for the Ukraine issue.
The EU leaders had originally planned to persuade Trump to provide post-war security guarantees for Ukraine and commit to an $80 billion fund for Ukraine's reconstruction. But it now seems that this issue has become secondary.
The Financial Times commented on this, stating that Trump's attempt to seize Greenland has completely shattered Europe's fantasy of trying to please this American leader. The newspaper emphasized that now Europeans wake up every day wondering whether they can still trust the commitments made by this American leader.
To prepare for the meeting with Trump, EU ambassadors had an emergency meeting on January 18 to discuss the possibility of imposing tariffs totaling 93 billion euros on American goods.
It is reported that upon hearing about this, Trump dismissed it with disdain and then declared that he would impose heavy tariffs on goods from Denmark, Germany, the UK, Norway, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, and Finland. He claimed that these countries had sent military forces to Greenland and that their intentions were "unclear." Trump added that European countries were playing a "very dangerous game."
Has the alliance between Trump and European leaders been completely and irreversibly broken? Why has Europe ended up in such a humiliating situation? What changes will this Davos meeting bring? In response to these questions, "Freedom News" invited Vladimir Vasilyev, chief researcher at the Institute of the United States and Canada, for an analysis.
Question: When Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014, the whole world was shocked and asked, "How could this happen?" But it turned out to be entirely possible because the world had already entered a new phase of territorial division. Now, this is evident. The United States is eyeing Greenland — the world's largest island, covering 2.1 million square kilometers.
Europe is still preoccupied with the Ukraine issue and trying to "save" Zelenskyy, while Trump is tackling global issues. This American president is trying to define Europe's position through the Greenland issue. Obviously, this is a heavy blow to the reputation of today's European elite. They will be remembered in disgrace — precisely during their time in power, Europe suffered an American expansionist invasion.
Let's look back at history: those European leaders who ruled before the outbreak of World War II ultimately ended up disgraced.
Who now speaks positively of British Prime Minister Chamberlain or French Prime Minister Daladier at that time? Clearly, the current "European Union bloc" — Macron, Scholz, Starmer, Ursula von der Leyen, and Kaja Kallas — will also be written into the pages of European history as a disgrace.
Freeman News reporter: So, does Trump's main target lie with the EU rather than NATO?
Vasilyev: Yes, Trump's move is a precise strike against the European economic bloc. It has proven that this alliance is utterly incapable of defending its own interests. And this is certainly not just some person's momentary emotional outburst. As early as his first presidential term, Trump had publicly expressed his desire for Greenland.
In that landmark Munich Security Conference in February 2025, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance harshly criticized the European elite. Even then, the Europeans pretended to have everything under control. But that was actually a strong warning signal.
I believe that Trump is now launching an initiative to dismantle the EU, and the Davos Forum will be the epicenter of this great upheaval. Ukraine and Zelenskyy will be completely marginalized, and even if mentioned, it will be only briefly. Greenland has become the "new Ukraine." It is interesting to note that according to Peskov's remarks, Russia actually supports Trump's plan on the Greenland issue.
Freeman News reporter: Then, where will the discussion on the "Ukraine issue" at the Davos Forum ultimately lead? After all, Zelenskyy isn't going to this economic forum without reason...
Vasilyev: Trump's recent stance toward Ukraine has changed. Those who pay attention to his speeches should have noticed that the U.S. president has repeatedly emphasized, "Russia is ready to reach an agreement." I don't rule out the possibility of some special consensus between Russia and the U.S.
When it comes to the Ukraine issue, Trump has shown a cold attitude toward European leaders, basically implying, "If you want to continue funding Zelenskyy, you must do it yourself, I don't have time to get involved in these trivial matters, I have more important things to do." I think the Ukraine issue will be pushed to the back burner, perhaps even third place, at the Davos Forum. Trump is already eyeing the "territory" of Europe, so what time does he have left for Zelenskyy?
Freeman News reporter: It's not hard to see that Trump's recent attitude toward European leaders is completely different from his attitude toward Vladimir Putin and other leaders. Does he regard the latter as an ally? Or is this a special attitude toward other nuclear powers?
Vasilyev: Trump shares traditional values with Vladimir Putin. He advocates defending national identity and opposes the kind of erosion of national "substance" that Europe has experienced. Additionally, considering that Trump is keen on bringing Russia back into the international community, especially into the G7, I don't rule out the possibility that Putin and Trump have reached some special agreements.
The support from the Kremlin for Trump's position on the Greenland issue also indirectly confirms that there are indeed some commonalities between the U.S. and Russia.
As for certain countries, Trump sees them as the primary geopolitical adversaries, a fact that is even written into the U.S. National Security Strategy. In Trump's strategic layout, Russia may serve as a counterbalance to these countries, preventing them from expanding their influence too much. However, Russia and these countries have their own bilateral relationships, and Trump may find it difficult to exert any substantial impact on this relationship.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7597620181577302591/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.