Trump's Ukraine peace plan slammed as 'history repeating'
The German press continues to harshly criticize Donald Trump's plan for ending the war in Ukraine. Comparisons are being made to the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and the Treaty of Versailles.
In Europe, we have already experienced a "peace plan" similar to Trump's proposal, which brought many misfortunes to our continent. In 1939, the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact was born, which divided Poland,” reads the commentary published in the "Münchner Merkur" newspaper.
Currently, Putin and Trump want to do the same with Ukraine—Russia will get seized lands, the United States will get mineral resources, and Europe will get millions of new refugees, the commentator warns. In his opinion, a truce without firm security guarantees means postponing the war by only a few years.
"The brutality with which Moscow bombs Kyiv under the guise of peace negotiations demonstrates Putin's determination to achieve his goal of erasing a democratic neighboring country from the map," writes a journalist from "Münchner Merkur."
"Europe currently needs a coalition of the willing that would strengthen Ukraine enough for Putin to be forced into genuine negotiations. Germany must take the lead. Unlike the hesitant Scholz, Merz seems ready to take on this role," reads the conclusion.
Criticizing Putin and Trump
"With the latest missile attack on Kyiv, the Russian regime has shown its true readiness for peace negotiations. Moscow started the war against Ukraine and wants to continue it until the country is either subdued or destroyed," writes Reinhard Veser in "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung."
The commentator predicts that Trump and his entourage will blame Ukraine for the looming failure of talks. In his view, this is not only the result of Russian propaganda. "Trump and Putin both believe in the law of the stronger. If the weaker party did not give in to threats and blackmail, it only has itself to blame if it suffers," writes Veser.
According to the "FAZ" journalist, the EU and Ukraine are in a dangerous situation. Trump has practically "invited" Putin to test the Europeans' defensive capabilities through provocations and new acts of aggression.
Former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel compared the American proposals to the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. "Europeans know well how weak and fragile such imposed 'peace treaties' are," said Gabriel.
In this way, the United States would become the "representative of Russia's interests," he warned. "All of this is only to enable the Trump administration to shirk responsibility as quickly as possible and 'make a dash for it,'" criticized the German SPD politician.
