Merz has floated the idea of a new European defense alliance to replace NATO, including nuclear cooperation with France and the U.K. He is hawkish on Russia, but has also apparently resolved to take on Trump with the same determination.

“Merz is signaling that the foundation of Germany’s post-World War II orientation will change under his government,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at EurasiaGroup. “And Merz seems to have understood the threat that Trump presents.”

That is good news for Ukraine, which has been battered and bullied by the new White House in the past two weeks. What’s even better news is that the likely coalition that Merz will assemble stands a good chance of agreeing to a much stronger line on supporting Ukraine (and bolstering European security) than Germany has managed in recent years.

Olaf Scholz, the self-style “peace chancellor”, has said he will not form part of the SPD team in any coalition. | Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

The second party in Merz’s likely coalition is the Social Democratic Party of Olaf Scholz, who styled himself as a “peace chancellor” reluctant to escalate the Ukraine conflict.

But Scholz has said he will not form part of his SPD’s team in any coalition. That opens the door to a figure such as current Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, another hardliner on Russia.

The fact Merz’s CDU/CSU conservatives can potentially form a “grand coalition” with the SPD means the new government is likely to be more stable than the previous, fractious power-sharing alliance of three parties.

Zelenskyy on Tuesday insisted that his country is still looking to join the alliance. While flanked by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, he said: “This direction is not changing.”

The alliance chief emphasized the organization was also working on “building that bridge” for Ukraine, while highlighting that European and Canadian members have pledged €35 billion in aid for Kyiv so far this year.

The U.S. under Trump has not requested any new military aid for Ukraine.

Zalenskyy also underlined that Ukraine’s accession was a “mutual opportunity” for the alliance, arguing his country now has the capacity to produce 8 million drones each year.

“It is an advantageous proposal for NATO today to have an ally like Ukraine, with NATO weapons, with new technology,” he told Sky News. “We have no secrets, and experienced people with 10 years of different types of fighting.”

Still, Trump and his administration have ruled out allowing Ukraine to join NATO. That’s a topic that could arise when the two leaders meet at The Hague.

The Ukrainian president also used his time in the Netherlands to warn that Russia was planning “destructive operations on NATO territory.”

“Moscow never truly respects any alliance and always betrays its so-called partners … [while] improving its ability to kill,” he said in an address to the Dutch parliament. “That’s why solidarity in defense is so important, so that no one ever has to face them alone.”

First published in Le Temps, Switzerland, December 3, 2019 | By Chappatte

First published in The Economist, U.K., December 7, 2019 | By Kal

First published in Der Standard, Austria, December 6, 2019 | By Oliver Schopf

First published on Caglecartoons.com, The Netherlands, December 3, 2019 | By Joep Bertrams

First published on Caglecartoons.com, The Netherlands, December 2, 2019 | By Tom Janssen

First published in De Volkskrant, The Netherlands, December 2, 2019 | By Jos Collignon

First published in De Volkskrant, The Netherlands, December 4, 2019 | By Schot

First published on POLITICO.com, U.S., December 4, 2019 | By Matt Wuerker

First published on Politicalcartoons.com, Canada, December 3, 2019 | By Dave Whamond

First published on Caglecartoons.com, Bulgaria, December 4, 2019 | By Christo Komarnistki

First published on Politicalcartoons.com, U.S., December 4, 2019 | By Peter Kuper

A dramatic escalation in the Middle East — following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities — has cast a shadow over the meeting. | Bilawal Arbab/EPA

As Trump returns to the NATO table and conflict brews in the Middle East, leaders are hoping unity survives a tightly choreographed summit.

THE HAGUE — The setting is stately, the schedule is tight, and the goal, if you ask European officials, is simple: Keep it short, keep it smooth — and keep Donald Trump from blowing it up.

That’s the mood as NATO leaders descend on The Hague for a two-day summit designed less for big strategy than careful stage management. It’s the U.S. president’s first return to the alliance table since 2019, and officials are openly hoping that his brief visit — less than 24 hours on the ground — is uneventful.

The stakes are high, and not just because of what might happen given Trump’s notorious unpredictability. A dramatic escalation in the Middle East — following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities — has cast a shadow over the meeting. The crisis isn’t on the official agenda, but it’s already dominating the private chatter.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the first to divulge America’s position at a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Hegseth told his counterparts gathered in the Belgian capital that Zelenskyy had no chance of achieving his goal of kicking Russian forces out of Crimea and the east of the country and returning Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders.

“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” Hegseth said.

Pete Hegseth told his counterparts gathered in the Belgian capital that Zelenskyy had no chance of achieving his goal of kicking Russian forces out of Crimea. | Johanna Geron/AFP via Getty Images

He then warned that America will be pulling back from its commitments to European security, renouncing the historic role it has played since the end of World War II, and set out a stark vision in which European governments will bear primary responsibility for their own defense — as well as for that of Ukraine.

Soon after, Trump extinguished any hope the cold new reality could be avoided. “I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” the U.S. president said in a post on social media.

“We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation … Millions of people have died in a War that would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end. No more lives should be lost!”