European leaders are confronting their worst-case scenario: Maybe they really are going to be dealing with a bellicose Russia alone.
When the U.S. lined up alongside Russia and North Korea earlier this week to oppose a U.N. motion condemning Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, some European officials knew that the transatlantic relationship was in deep trouble. Then they watched in horror as Donald Trump gave Volodymyr Zelenskyy a public dressing down in the Oval Office and something broke.
In interviews, more than half a dozen officials who’ve maintained their composure through wars and financial crises reacted with visceral anger. For them, the scene showed the trust and values that have bound Europe and the U.S. together since the end of World War II are no longer shared.
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