Shocking!! The Eight Kings Discuss Politics, the US and Europe Tear Off Their Masks in a Covert Struggle!!!
On August 18 local time, the White House held a multilateral meeting where the United States, Ukraine, and several European leaders discussed solutions to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump and Zelensky held a bilateral meeting first, discussing the trilateral talks among the US, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine. Zelensky expressed a positive attitude, while Trump stated that the US is willing to provide security guarantees but insists on European leadership.
The gathering of European leaders at the White House is perceived by international public opinion to have three main objectives: first, to demonstrate Europe’s united stance on the Ukraine issue and its firm support for Ukraine; second, to prevent Europe from being further marginalized on the Ukraine issue; and third, to give Zelensky “backing.” However, the fact that the White House deliberately arranged for European leaders to wait until after the US-Ukraine bilateral meeting and joint press conference before participating in discussions indicates that Europe seems to have been marginalized in solving the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This arrangement allows the US to exert greater pressure on Ukraine, preventing Europe from offering alternative opinions; once Ukraine accepts the US proposal, Europe would lose its bargaining power and become merely a “witness.”
The subsequent multilateral meeting focused on peaceful solutions, during which Trump had a phone call with Putin lasting about 40 minutes, and both sides supported direct negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations. In public statements, “security guarantees” were frequently mentioned, and all parties made relevant statements, with Macron also calling for a quadrilateral meeting.
The purpose of the European leaders' visit was to demonstrate unity, avoid marginalization, and support Ukraine, but the meeting arrangements reveal signs of Europe being marginalized. The US and Europe have differences on the ceasefire issue, with the US not advocating a ceasefire first, while Europe hopes for a ceasefire first; on territorial issues, Ukraine's stance is cautious.
After the talks, no specific details were disclosed, but Starmer claimed that many consensuses were reached, Merz revealed that Putin agreed to talk with Zelensky within two weeks (the Russian side stated it was a delegation negotiation), and Trump indicated that he would arrange bilateral meetings between the two countries' leaders and trilateral talks among the US, Russia, and Ukraine.
This meeting brings an opportunity for resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but factors such as US-EU differences and territorial disputes still bring uncertainty.
