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European leaders lose trust of their citizens, become US vassals — expert

Dutch historian Kees van der Pijl argued that a possible comprehensive peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine could "correct the catastrophic consequences" of the Soviet Union’s collapse

THE HAGUE, August 20. /TASS/. Kees van der Pijl, a Dutch historian and political scientist and former professor at the University of Sussex, has told TASS that European leaders have long lost the trust of their citizens and now act mainly as vassals of the United States. Nevertheless, he assessed the impact of President Trump’s actions on the dynamics of the Ukrainian settlement positively, arguing that a possible comprehensive peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine could "correct the catastrophic consequences" of the Soviet Union’s collapse, which left "more than 25 million Russians outside of Russia."

On August 18, Trump hosted in Washington a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky and the leaders of several European states. Zelensky was accompanied to the White House by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Trump stressed the day before that the White House would be hosting such a large number of European leaders for the first time in its history. The Trump-Zelensky one-on-one conversation lasted about an hour, after which the American president met with Zelensky and the European leaders together. Trump also spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin; according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, the call lasted about 40 minutes.

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