To keep US support for Ukraine under Trump, the EU invokes China!
In an effort to keep U.S. support for Ukraine high under the incoming Trump administration, Brussels is now increasingly linking the fight against China's assertiveness, a key priority for Washington, to efforts to shore up the battered European nation. from the war. "If the US is concerned about China or other actors, then they should also be concerned about how we respond to Russia's war against Ukraine," Foreign Affairs Commissioner-designate Kaja Kallas told MEPs on Tuesday. and security.
Beijing is helping Russia maintain its war machine, along with Iran and North Korea, and should therefore "feel a higher cost" for its assistance to Moscow, she added during the hearing. of its confirmation in the European Parliament in Brussels. This echoed comments made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week, just a day after Donald Trump secured a second term in the White House.
Asked after a meeting of EU leaders in Budapest whether the bloc was prepared to step up support for Kiev if Trump made good on his threat to drastically cut US contributions, von der Leyen said what "it is more important to discuss with our American friends. also (is) the fact that Russia is not only a threat to Europe, but a threat to global security as a whole".
"We see technology from China and Iran being used by Russia on the battlefield. This shows that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Europe are interconnected and so are the European and United States interests in this cause." "I think this is an argument where we also need to be very clear with our American friends," she added.
Trump also said on the campaign trail that he would seek to end the war in Ukraine within days of taking office on Jan. 20, sparking fears that he might seek to impose painful territorial concessions on Kiev.
Another concern is that the $20 billion the US intends to provide as part of a $50 billion (€45 billion) loan to Ukraine from G7 allies could be canceled by Trump if it is not approved before his inauguration. . Half of the US portion is earmarked for military aid and needs congressional approval.
Meanwhile, the next US president is expected to focus heavily on China, as he did during his first term when he imposed comprehensive tariffs on Chinese products. The US, under the leadership of Joe Biden, continued to recalibrate its foreign policy eastward, unveiling an Indo-Pacific Strategy and signing bilateral and multilateral partnerships, including military agreements, with countries in the region.
Under Washington's push, the NATO military alliance also shifted some of its attention to the Indo-Pacific with a mention of the region first made in a communiqué issued after a summit of leaders in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2023. Events in the Indo-Pacific, says the NATO communiqué, "may directly affect Euro-Atlantic security", a phrase recycled in the document signed by leaders after this year's summit in Washington.
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