British and French officials are shifting their focus from deploying troops to supporting Ukraine's defense without US assistance. This is reported by the Telegraph, writes UNN.
Officials have agreed to shift their focus from deploying European troops to support any ceasefire to supporting Kyiv's long-term defense against Russian invasion without US support.
It is noted that there is now a real concern that US President Donald Trump will fulfill his threat to abandon the role of mediator, having failed to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
"Let's be realistic and admit that the US will never be on board," a Western official told the Telegraph, describing the horrific mood at the meeting in The Hague.
A European diplomat added: "It was mainly about how to maintain the necessary support for Ukraine, when we assume that the US will continue to provide only some specific resources, such as intelligence. We also agreed on the need to increase economic pressure on Russia."
The Telegraph notes that the meeting in the capital of the Netherlands, which was attended by "political directors" from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, marked a sharp change in the roles of the "Coalition of the Willing", created by Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron to support a possible ceasefire sought by the Americans.
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Keir and Macron are promoting a "Coalition of the Willing" proposal, according to which European allies will use their soldiers to enforce any peace agreement.
More than 30 countries have expressed their support, although only a few have publicly offered to deploy troops on Ukrainian territory.
The central question was whether Washington was willing to provide what British figures called a "security guarantee" or "support" for these forces.
As the Telegraph writes, the group has not yet publicly acknowledged that its intentions have changed, as the chances of peace diminish as Putin resists international pressure in favor of a truce.
European countries also agreed to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the NATO summit in The Hague next month.
His presence was previously in doubt after Trump spoke out loudly against Ukraine's accession to the Western military alliance.
General Keith Kellogg, Mr. Trump's envoy on Ukraine, said on Friday: "We have said that for us, Ukraine's accession to NATO is not up for discussion.
It is likely that the coalition will continue to publicly support Trump's peace efforts at the request of Ukrainian officials, who fear that failure to do so will lead to the American leader cutting off arms supplies and intelligence sharing.