New US defence secretary Pete Hegseth denied on Thursday that the Trump administration’s push for peace talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin amounted to a “betrayal” of Ukraine. But the fact the question is even being posed tells its own story. Donald Trump’s call with Russia’s leader this week blindsided European capitals, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader and US ally. The president’s approach looks alarmingly like a path to the sellout his partners had feared. European leaders must use all means they can to try to talk Trump round to a more robust stance. But they must get their act together, too, in taking control of their own and Ukraine’s defence.
美國新任國防部長皮特?海格塞斯(Pete Hegseth)周四否認特朗普政府推動與俄羅斯的弗拉基米爾?普京(Vladimir Putin)進行和談是對烏克蘭的“背叛”。但問題的提出本身就說明了一些問題。本周，唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)與俄羅斯領導人的通話讓歐洲各國政府和烏克蘭領導人及美國盟友弗拉基米爾?澤連斯基(Volodymyr Zelenskyy)措手不及。總統的做法看起來令人擔憂，似乎走上了其伙伴所擔心的出賣之路。歐洲領導人必須盡一切可能勸說特朗普采取更強硬的立場。但他們也必須團結起來，掌控自己和烏克蘭的防務。