MOSCOW: EU countries are preparing for a change in US military support for Ukraine if Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump wins the upcoming US presidential election, reported Sputnik.
The Washington Post reported, citing European officials, that Washington’s closest allies in Europe are bracing for a possible breakdown in transatlantic relations if former Trump wins Tuesday’s election. The publication added that to hedge against a possible White House reorientation on Ukraine, European officials have sought to push through aid packages before the November elections.
NATO’s new command has also taken over some of the Pentagon’s responsibilities for coordinating military aid to Kyiv, it added.
According to German parliamentarian Thomas Erndl, Europe must take more responsibility for its own security, since current US President Joe Biden is likely “the last president who is truly transatlantic in the traditional sense.”
European officials admit that the loss of US support in the defence sector would deal a devastating blow to the EU and have also prepared a draft of retaliatory trade tariffs in case Trump starts imposing tariffs on EU products again, the publication said. Officials have already prepared strategies for negotiations with the Republican, planning to offer him either a unification of efforts to counter China or an increase in US imports.
The Financial Times reported in late July that the EU was developing a trade strategy in the event of Trump winning the election, which provides for the possibility of introducing high tariffs on US imports if negotiations on improving trade with Washington fail. According to the newspaper, negotiations with Trump are planned to begin before he officially takes office if he wins the election. EU representatives want to discuss with him a possible list of American products that the bloc can buy in large quantities.
Trump previously promised that he would be able to achieve a settlement of the Ukrainian conflict through negotiations. He has repeatedly stated that he would be able to resolve the conflict in Ukraine in one day. Russia believes that this is too complex a problem for such a simple solution. In addition, Trump has repeatedly criticised US approach to the conflict in Ukraine, and also criticised Volodymyr Zelensky.
