Europeans surprised by Trump’s decision to call Putin without consulting Zelenskyy

Europeans are surprised and frustrated by President Trump’s decision to call Russian President Putin without consulting Ukrainian President Zelenskyy or other European leadership, Responsible Statecraft online magazine said, Report informs.

According to the publication, many European leaders saw Trump’s call with Putin as a betrayal: "The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said that the Americans were giving Russia 'everything that they want even before the negotiations' and that any agreement made without the Europeans 'will simply not work.'"

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended President Trump’s call with Putin, saying that “there is no betrayal there,” but a “recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace, a negotiated peace.”

He also softened his comments on Ukrainian NATO membership, saying that “everything is on the table in his (Trump’s) conversations with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.”

Trump said he and Putin may meet for an initial discussion at an undetermined date in Saudi Arabia because “we know the crown prince, and I think it’d be a very good place to be.” Vice President JD Vance will meet with Zeleskyy today on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.