Everyone wants to know what Donald Trump has planned for Ukraine. The US President-elect has pledged to secure a negotiated end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but has yet to formally present his terms for any possible deal. At the same time, it is already clear that the new US administration will expect Europe to play a far more prominent role in the push for a sustainable peace. This creates opportunities for European leaders to seize the initiative.
In order to secure favorable terms in any future peace process, the West must approach negotiations from a position of strength. The only way Western leaders can achieve this is by dramatically expanding military assistance to Ukraine and intensifying economic pressure on Russia. Europe can show Trump that it’s ready to start leading on this without delay.
One major step would be using the more than €280 billion in Russian state assets currently frozen in European jurisdictions to support Ukraine economically and militarily, including by financing the production and purchase of US weapons. The case under international law for seizing these assets is strong. Both the US and Canada have already passed legislation to do so, while the British Parliament is moving forward with a report on how to use these assets to fund the war effort in Ukraine.
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