U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby has been involved in conveying to the Europeans the administration’s view that U.S. participation in the so-called reassurance force in Ukraine will be minimal. As reported Aug. 20 by Politico, Colby said as much during a private meeting pulled together by Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine on Tuesday evening, Aug. 19, with a delegation of defense chiefs from Europe. They weren’t happy with what they heard, and more discussion ensued yesterday in a hastily convened videoconference.
Defense chiefs from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Finland pushed the U.S. side to disclose what it would provide in troops and air assets to help Ukraine maintain a peace deal with Russia, according to a European official and another person briefed on the talks, reported Politico. The gathering and another hastily arranged meeting of NATO leaders on Aug. 20 left allies increasingly concerned that President Donald Trump will rely on Europe to ensure a long-term peace once Russia ends its invasion, according to six unnamed American and European officials.
A NATO diplomat, briefed on the talks, said: “There’s the dawning reality that this will be Europe making this happen on the ground. The U.S. is not fully committed to anything.” And one of the European officials said: “I don’t know where that leaves us. Pretty much back to where we were in the spring with the Coalition of the Willing.”
Politico added that Colby has long pushed for European allies to do more to defend the continent against Russia. His presence in the talks could signify a more difficult road for Europe to lock down American security support.
