mk Turkey, on February 27, 2025. Photo: VCG" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-02-27/c8291a71-b5f5-4f8a-a199-c2e18082ff04.jpeg" />

A car carrying Russian diplomats arrives at the US Consulate General before a meeting between US and Russian delegations on bilateral issues in Istanbul, Turkey, on February 27, 2025. Photo: VCG

Europe is ramping up diplomatic efforts to secure continued US support for Ukraine, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer set to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, closely following French President Emmanuel Macron's visit. However, some analysts said that ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not a mere impulse for Trump administration but a key step in foreign policy, adding that this situation highlights intensifying diplomatic game and deepening rifts in the transatlantic relations.

According to a BBC report on Thursday, Starmer "reiterated his call for a US security guarantee in Ukraine." While speaking on the plane to Washington DC, Starmer said he hopes the UK-US relationship could go from "strength to strength." But the report also noted that Starmer and Trump "appear to be at odds over the importance of US security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any peace deal there." 

As Starmer was flying across the Atlantic, Trump was holding a televised cabinet meeting. In the course of the meeting, on the subject of Ukraine, Trump said "I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We're going to have Europe do that," according to The Guardian. 

European leaders are growing increasingly frustrated with the exclusion of Europe and Ukraine from US-Russia negotiations, Feng Zhongping, director of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. Their current diplomatic efforts are centered on persuading and pressuring the Trump administration to reconsider its policy on Russia, said Feng.

Europe insists that the US must provide security guarantees for Ukraine and the continent is especially concerned about what role NATO and the US will play in post-war arrangements on security. Meanwhile, European countries are worried that the US may pull out from Europe entirely, leaving them vulnerable and isolated, said Feng, noting that the diplomatic game between the US and Europe is intensifying.  

Starmer's visit to the White House comes on the heels of the French president's trip. Politico said in a report on Wednesday that Macron was "unable to get concrete reassurances" from Trump on American security guarantees for Ukraine this week. 

Before coming to the US, Starmer announced a big increase in the British defense budget, an investment that he hopes will help "sway" Trump over Ukraine, according to an AP report on Thursday. In another report on February 23, the AP noted that "There is an element of good cop, bad cop in efforts" by Starmer and Macron to "salvage American support" for Kiev.

No matter how much pressure European leaders apply - whether through "good cop, bad cop" tactics or relentless diplomatic maneuvers - they are unlikely to shift Trump's current strategy, Wang Xiaoquan, an expert with the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. 

Resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not just an impulse for the Trump administration, but a key step in fundamentally shifting US foreign policy. The US seeks a swift resolution, reducing involvement in Europe and Ukraine issue, and pursuing relations with Russia to normalize, said Wang.

At best, European leaders may secure some minor tactical concessions, such as easing Ukraine's losses or encouraging the US to focus more on European security. However, they will not be able to fundamentally alter the broader situation, said the expert.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also due to visit Washington on Friday. According to the Washington Post, Trump and Zelensky "offered differing expectations" for the summit as the Ukrainian leader underscored his need for American assurances about Kiev's future security and "the US president stressed the benefits of a deal to reap Ukraine's vast mineral wealth."

Ukrainian officials said Kiev was ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands for a right to $500 billion in potential revenue from the deal, according to a Financial Times report on Wednesday.

Wang said it has been a setback for Ukraine and Europe. Ukraine has been severely weakened, with its industries and resources traded away. Europe, meanwhile, has found itself at odds with the US on Russia-related issues, and it is now forced to face a new geopolitical reality alone.

New phase 

Reuters reported that Russian and US diplomats met in Turkey on Thursday for talks to resolve disputes over the work of their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, a first test of their ability to reset wider relations and work toward ending the conflict in Ukraine.

The US State Department said Thursday's talks would cover issues such as staffing levels, visas and diplomatic banking. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the outcome of the meeting "will show how quickly and effectively we can move," according to Reuters. 

Talks between US and Russian delegations on bilateral issues and mending ties concluded in Istanbul on Thursday, according to Xinhua reporters on the scene.

Amid US-Russia negotiations, concerns are growing in Europe and Ukraine about being further marginalized. This highlights the complexity of US-Europe relations and underscores America's indifference to Europe's key security concerns, Li Yonghui, a senior research fellow in the Institute of Russia, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. 

The expert said the differences between the transatlantic allies are deepening and their relationship is entering a new, rapidly changing phase under the Trump administration. 

For decades, the US kept Europe aligned with its goals, while Europe relied on the US for its own security. However, this dynamic is now evolving, with Europe taking steps toward greater autonomy and independence, marking a significant change in the transatlantic relationship, Wang said, while also noting that the path to autonomy remains challenging, hindered by a lack of strong leadership and ongoing power struggles.