Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden on Wednesday evening declared that now “strikes the hour of Europe”, commenting on the escalation of tensions between global leaders over the war in Ukraine, kicked off by US President Donald Trump’s labelling of Ukraine President Zelensky as a “dictator”.
Speaking to RTL reporters after a meeting of European and NATO leaders in Paris, Frieden explained that they discussed plans to strengthen European security vis-a-vis Russia in the coming years. The PM noted that a ceasefire in Ukraine without clear prospects for lasting peace represents a dangerous situation for Europe, with Russian President Putin potentially emboldened to strike anew.
This meeting, organised by France’s Macron, was a follow-up to inner-circle emergency summit to which Frieden had not bee invited.
Frieden believes it is clear that ultimately, the EU will have to decide what is happening on the continent, “with the Americans if possible”. He argued that it is not in the interest of the US, a member of NATO, to hand a victory to Putin, which is why the “European pillar of NATO” has to be reinforced to create a “credible European defence”.
Luxembourg’s PM also conveyed that discussions on peace-keeping troops were held, though he warned that any deployment would have to be preceded by a concrete peace plan and an international mandate. For now, Frieden said, Ukraine is at war and has to be supported with material.
When asked about Trump’s designation of Zelensky as a “dictator”, Frieden warned that not every comment from the US president warrants a reaction.
