Standing in solidarity with the Ukrainian president and joining forces with the United Kingdom to stop Putin's war, Europeans hold the key to restoring peace on the continent.
Without the security guarantees they have offered, and which they are determined to implement, Ukraine will not accept any blackmail, and no ceasefire will be agreed.
They have already persuaded the US president to change his plans and continue aid to Ukraine.
The mining agreement he signed with Ukraine is no longer, as in its first version, a disreputable attempt at fraud, but a promise of US investment in the reconstruction of Ukraine, respecting its independence and European law, as for any candidate country for accession.
Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer and now Friedrich Merz have, through their unity and determination, changed the dangerous course of an unprecedented US policy.
They did not need to make any grandiose statements to do so. The meetings in Paris and London, attended by heads of state, chiefs of staff and experts from nearly 30 countries, demonstrated a strong will that has been translated into action.
In control of their sanctions against Russia, which they have refused to lift, and which are more painful than people realise, the Europeans have committed more than €150 billion in aid to Ukraine, that is 50% more than the Americans. They alone have delivered aircraft, artillery and ten times more tanks than the United States. Stronger air defence tools should follow their efforts in intelligence, satellite services and ammunition supplies, which are on track to exceed US aid.
Europeans are capable of supporting the victim on their own, and they are backed by distant Western countries such as Canada, Japan and South Korea, which understand the importance of the issue at stake: rejecting revisionism and imperialism that could set the planet ablaze. American politicians and citizens share this sentiment, and Donald Trump may well change his mind once again.
This is probably the real reason behind Russia's hostility, which is being expressed in a formidable disinformation campaign against France and Germany, fuelled by well-paid mouthpieces and the usual self-appointed idiots. It is using the most despicable means – lies, fake news and insults – to sow discord and division within our democracies. But this time, the Europeans are responding with renewed and stronger determination.
Europe is more than ever key to resolving the conflict in Ukraine, and nothing will happen without it. Let's hope that it will emerge stronger and more secure.
