Antonio Tajani shakes his head. He sighs. “Without America, Europe cannot do anything useful for the truce in Ukraine.” In a room on the second floor of a hotel in the centre of Brussels, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs picks up a pen and starts writing on a blank sheet of paper. On the left, the United States and NATO; on the right, Europe and Russia. In the middle, Volodymyr Zelensky’s Ukraine, which has reached a historic crossroads.
To negotiate and come to terms with Putin, the invader, or to flip the table and keep firing shots from the trenches, until Donald Trump shuts off the taps of US military aid – that is the question. After almost three years, the former path appeared feasible – witness Zelensky’s opening to negotiations and the cry for help on the part of Donbass and Crimea. Then Putin spoke, and the climb became steep again. Tajani listened to the Russian president’s diktats live, as the initial optimism about a negotiated solution began to fade. “Putin talks about compromise. Which is fine, but words are not enough. Actions must follow,” says the Italian Deputy Prime Minister.
Tajani is just back from a round of meetings with the leaders of the People’s Party in Brussels, some in the forefront of the Ukrainian crisis – such as Polish President Donald Tusk, who on Wednesday evening attended NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s dinner together with Zelensky and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Striking a balance in Europe is not easy. Doing it together with Trump’s United States, reiterates Tajani, is an imperative. His thoughts turn to those are currently in favour of keeping on with the war, from the Baltics to the Poles.
What about Italy? “We must act as bridge-builders together with the United States. Meloni and Trump’s good relations can prove helpful.” Woe betide making random moves, warns the head of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The risk is there, judging from Trump’s first four years in the White House. “We cannot divide the West. History has taught us that its strength lies in its two pillars, America and Europe. Have we forgotten the Second World War?”
Outside the hotel room, the Populars go about their business – Manfred Weber, Ursula von der Leyen, Mitsotakis. Tajani picks up a pen and a piece of paper. He sketches a map, goes back to the war on the European borders. His analysis is as follows: “We are at a turning point. There is pressure from both sides to reach a negotiated solution. But first, Russia must stop waging war.” It is pointless to think about the aftermath, if shots are still being fired in the trenches. Indeed, the leader of Forza Italia is holding back. He is cautious, say, about the proposal for a European contingent of peacekeepers to be deployed on the Ukrainian border, as launched by Italian Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, among others. And while he himself has been working for a long time together with Swiss President Ignazio Cassis on the forthcoming ‘peace conference’ that will have to see Russians and Ukrainians sitting at the same table, he is well aware that the reality on the ground speaks of war, one that shows no sign of stopping. “However, I believe that even the Russians have realised that the war cannot go on,” he says. Syria was a hard blow for Putin. Russia cannot wage two wars at the same time.” So what to do? Call Trump, for starters. The fate of the conflict that has been staining Ukraine with blood for three years is mainly in his hands. On this point, Tajani is cautiously optimistic. He explains that Trump will not pull the plug overnight, as many fear. “He is a very pragmatic leader, he will not want to give in to Putin. He’s going to head the peace process. We have to work on it too. Together with America.”
