BRITAIN BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE USA

In times of crisis, history accelerates, and events that usually unfold over months or even years fit into a short period of time. The diplomatic steps of France and Britain as a reaction to the Russia-US talks in Riyadh became such a cycle of events, marking turning points in history. The visits of French President E. Macron and British Prime Minister K. Starmer to Washington in February on the issue of deploying European «peacekeepers» in Ukraine in case of a peace deal were unsuccessful: the US President refused to support it with military means, which put it at risk. The failed negotiations between V. Zelensky and D. Trump, the cancellation of the signing of the US-Ukraine agreement on rare earth metals, caused a scandal. The EU countries and Britain were faced with a choice: to support Ukraine or the US. The meeting of 18 EU countries in London, statements by E. Macron and K. Starmer, and by other leaders, the extraordinary EU summit on March 6 showed their readiness to increase defense spending (at the demand of D. Trump), strengthen military and material support to the Kiev regime and confront the US administration. Obviously, the calculation was made to persuade D. Trump to support European plans and weaken Russia, or wait for the results of the midterm elections to Congress in 2026 in the hope of a victory for the Democrats, which would put limits to the policy of the American president. Most European leaders continue to ignore Russia’s national interests and put forward proposals unacceptable to Russia making them unworkable.