Europe fears weakened security ties with US as Donald Trump picks JD Vance

Europe fears weakened security ties with US as Donald Trump picks JD Vance

Military aid being delivered as part of US security assistance to Ukraine in February 2022 © Serhiy Takhmazov/Reuters

“The choice of Vance is a clear signal for us,” she added, arguing that Ukraine would need to “think of a new strategy of communication with the Americans” if Trump won the election.

Some European countries have welcomed the Vance nomination and expressed optimism about a possible second Trump term.

In a reference to policy on Ukraine, Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó posted a photo of Trump and Vance with the words “The hope for peace”, while Balázs Orbán, another top official, added on X: “A Trump-Vance administration sounds just right.”

Ukrainian officials see House Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to allow the $60bn assistance package through Congress this year as a glimmer of hope that future aid could continue during a Trump presidency.

While the former president, who casts a long shadow over House Republicans, has been sceptical of US aid to Ukraine, he suggested in April that he was open to the passage of the funding package.

Ihor Zhovkva, foreign policy adviser to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he believed Trump would stick to a recent security deal between Washington and Kyiv.

“I haven’t actually heard Trump talking about the idea of slowing down US leadership of the world,” Zhovkva said.

But Trump allies such as Vance and Ric Grenell, who is seen as a top contender to be secretary of state, have signalled that they would seek to shift away from open-ended support for Kyiv if the former president wins in November.

Additional reporting by Guy Chazan, Lucy Fisher and Christopher Miller

Source link : https://www.ft.com/content/563c5005-c099-445f-b0f1-4077b8612de4

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Publish date : 2024-07-16 12:40:11

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