Ilves: US Tilting Toward Russia, Europe Must Act More United
Former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves says Washington's approach to Russia's war in Ukraine is shifting, and urges Europe to act in a more united and independent way. He warns that divisions inside the EU could block a common security policy.
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who served as President of Estonia from 2006 to 2016, has given his assessment of the changing US stance on Russia's war in Ukraine. The interview was aired on the France 24 news channel and addresses the consequences for European security at a time when transatlantic relations face renewed uncertainty.
Ilves argues that the Trump administration's apparent rapprochement with Moscow is shaped partly by domestic electoral calculations. At the same time, he says, Ukraine is navigating an increasingly precarious diplomatic and military situation.
Does Washington hold decisive leverage over Kyiv?
The former president challenges the assumption that the United States still has overwhelming leverage over Ukraine. He points to Europe's growing financial commitment to Ukrainian defence, as well as the potential domestic political costs if Washington withdrew its intelligence support.
A fragmented Europe
Ilves sees a more consequential challenge in the fragmentation of Europe's political landscape. Nationalist movements, competing security priorities and differing attitudes towards Russia, in his view, threaten the continent's capacity for collective action. He says European strategic autonomy is no longer an abstract institutional ambition but an urgent geopolitical necessity.
"If there's any time for Europe to begin to act as Europe and not as being strictly self-interested, then this is the time for it," Ilves said.
He warns that if the issue is not taken seriously, tensions within the European Union will grow between those who treat security seriously and countries or leaders who block progress simply to appeal to their domestic audiences.
