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European leaders work to placate Trump on Ukraine

Feb 25, 2025, 6:57am EST
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Macron and Trump
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

European leaders moved to placate US President Donald Trump while taking steps to shore up the continent’s defenses as Washington retreats.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said ahead of a Washington trip that Trump had “changed the global conversation” for the better, but struck a contrasting tone by calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “barbaric” and reiterating that Britain was willing to deploy troops.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron spent a joint press conference “praising, flattering and gently cajoling” Trump, the BBC reported, but insisted that peace must not mean “surrender.”

Behind the scenes, a French official told The Daily Telegraph that Paris may move nuclear-armed aircraft into Germany to maintain a deterrent against Russia if the US withdraws.

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