EU leaders ‘trembling’ over Putin-Trump call – Bild
The leaders of EU nations are “trembling” ahead of Tuesday’s phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, which is expected to focus on the settlement of the Ukraine conflict, German tabloid Bild has reported. Trump has said he plans to speak with Putin on Tuesday for the second time since taking office two months ago. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday that the conversation between the two leaders would be taking place. During their phone call, Putin and Trump will address “the future of Ukraine and possibly also the future of Europe, with potentially devastating consequences for the security of our continent,” Bild claimed in an article on Tuesday. “That is why there is a mood of alarm in Europe’s capitals,” the article added. EU and NATO member-states that neighbor Russia – Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – are “afraid” of the phone call due to concerns that it “could mean a withdrawal of US troops and an attack by the Russian military within a few years,” it said. Putin has repeatedly dismissed claims that Moscow has any aggressive plans towards NATO as “nonsense” meant to scare the Western European population and increase military budgets. France and the UK, which have been actively promoting the idea of sending Western European peacekeepers to Ukraine despite Moscow vehemently rejecting such a possibility, are “also preparing for the worst possible Trump-Putin pact,” Bild stressed. “If Trump throws Ukraine under the bus, powerful EU states could step in, which could lead to a showdown with Moscow and Washington,” the paper wrote. In a post on X on Tuesday, Trump said he was “very much” looking forward to his phone call with Putin. The fighting in Ukraine “must end now,” he insisted, adding that many elements of the Ukraine peace deal have already been agreed upon with Moscow, but that “much remains” to be addressed. The US president earlier said that he and Putin would discuss the territorial realities on the ground in the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, as well as the situation around nuclear power plants endangered by the fighting.
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