According to the French newspaper Le Monde, the last similar incident (excluding the EU from peace negotiations in the Ukraine conflict) occurred in Brussels - a scheduled meeting was suddenly canceled, and the plane carrying U.S. representatives never even flew to Europe, and the negotiations were ultimately moved to Florida, the United States.

Arnaud, former French ambassador to the U.S., commented: "Trump treats Europeans like he treats Guatemalans - without any respect."

This incident is a typical example of the current U.S.-led process of achieving peace in the Ukraine conflict, with the EU being marginalized.

The Origin Lies in Europe

The U.S. peace plan for the Ukraine conflict, "28 points," was clearly opposed by leaders of countries such as the UK, France, and Germany, who stated that any peace agreement without the participation of Ukraine and Europe would be "unacceptable."

The EU frequently held emergency meetings, trying to unify its position, and demonstrated its influence through sanctions against Russia and military aid to Ukraine. However, there were divisions within the EU on key issues such as sending troops.

Europe is worried that the U.S. may sacrifice Ukraine's territorial integrity or make deals with Russia to reach an agreement, thereby threatening Europe's long-term security.

Facing European resistance, the U.S. envoy openly stated, "There will be no place for Europe at the table of peace negotiations in Ukraine."

The U.S. chose to directly advance the process through bilateral channels between the U.S. and Russia or the U.S. and Ukraine, setting the negotiation location in the U.S. or a third country, effectively bypassing the multilateral framework of the EU and NATO.

This marks a turning point: the U.S. is reshaping the agenda according to the logic of "great power deals," while Europe is experiencing the pain of transition from a "dependent" to an "autonomous" actor, filled with anxiety.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850807024640000/

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