Jonathan Beale

a security guarantee for Ukraine if the war should end by putting boots on the ground. Both Mr. Rutter and also the U.S. Defense Secretary suggesting that those are not concessions, that the talks haven't, the negotiations haven't properly begun, that both sides will have to make concessions. And indeed, as far as Mr. Rutter is concerned, that Ukraine will have to be involved in those decisions.

But at the And that's certainly the view of the German defence minister, Kaya Kallis, that concessions have been made to Vladimir Putin, but then there have been no such preconditions issued to Russia as to what they should concede. And so it does look a bit one-sided to a lot of countries here.

But at the And that's certainly the view of the German defence minister, Kaya Kallis, that concessions have been made to Vladimir Putin, but then there have been no such preconditions issued to Russia as to what they should concede. And so it does look a bit one-sided to a lot of countries here.

I'm not sure I'd use the word cowed, but I think everybody remembers the first Trump administration and when there was a summit here in Brussels and Donald Trump was threatening to... pull out of the alliance because he felt countries were not spending enough on defence.

I'm not sure I'd use the word cowed, but I think everybody remembers the first Trump administration and when there was a summit here in Brussels and Donald Trump was threatening to... pull out of the alliance because he felt countries were not spending enough on defence.

That message again has come through loud and clear from the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said Donald Trump wanted to make NATO great again, in other words, taking a campaign slogan and adjusting it for the alliance, but also saying that Europe had to take more responsibility for its own security and spend more on defence, suggesting that they should spend the state's 5%

That message again has come through loud and clear from the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said Donald Trump wanted to make NATO great again, in other words, taking a campaign slogan and adjusting it for the alliance, but also saying that Europe had to take more responsibility for its own security and spend more on defence, suggesting that they should spend the state's 5%

of their national income GDP on defense. That's not even a figure that the U.S. meets. They're just over 3%. But I think that as a way of keeping America in, and let's remember, America is the biggest, most powerful member of this military alliance, that they have to, to some extent, build bridges with Donald Trump. And that is the way that Mark Rutter, the head of NATO, operates.

of their national income GDP on defense. That's not even a figure that the U.S. meets. They're just over 3%. But I think that as a way of keeping America in, and let's remember, America is the biggest, most powerful member of this military alliance, that they have to, to some extent, build bridges with Donald Trump. And that is the way that Mark Rutter, the head of NATO, operates.

He's a consensus builder. He was a prime minister who ran coalition governments. That is how he survived. And that is how he sees the way of keeping America on side. So I think there is certainly an effort to try to again, we're back to the word appease, Donald Trump, to make sure that he doesn't completely sideline NATO or Ukraine.

He's a consensus builder. He was a prime minister who ran coalition governments. That is how he survived. And that is how he sees the way of keeping America on side. So I think there is certainly an effort to try to again, we're back to the word appease, Donald Trump, to make sure that he doesn't completely sideline NATO or Ukraine.

And if the war goes on and the fighting hasn't stopped, let's remember, these negotiations, we don't know whether they will succeed, but they will, European allies, still have to provide and fill the void left by the United States in terms of military support.

And if the war goes on and the fighting hasn't stopped, let's remember, these negotiations, we don't know whether they will succeed, but they will, European allies, still have to provide and fill the void left by the United States in terms of military support.

I think really what's changed is that NATO here had been presenting a united front, that it supported Ukraine, it was providing military support in concert with the former US administration, and it was going to let Ukraine decide how this war would end, essentially. That if there were going to be talks... that Ukraine had to be involved in those discussions and those decisions.

I think really what's changed is that NATO here had been presenting a united front, that it supported Ukraine, it was providing military support in concert with the former US administration, and it was going to let Ukraine decide how this war would end, essentially. That if there were going to be talks... that Ukraine had to be involved in those discussions and those decisions.

I think really what's changed is that NATO here had been presenting a united front, that it supported Ukraine, it was providing military support in concert with the former US administration, and it was going to let Ukraine decide how this war would end, essentially. That if there were going to be talks... that Ukraine had to be involved in those discussions and those decisions.

And what we're getting now with the new administration is that the US, the White House, Donald Trump is in the driving seat. He's calling the shots, not NATO as a whole, so that unity has been frayed somewhat. And we know that while the U.S.

And what we're getting now with the new administration is that the US, the White House, Donald Trump is in the driving seat. He's calling the shots, not NATO as a whole, so that unity has been frayed somewhat. And we know that while the U.S.

And what we're getting now with the new administration is that the US, the White House, Donald Trump is in the driving seat. He's calling the shots, not NATO as a whole, so that unity has been frayed somewhat. And we know that while the U.S.

administration has set preconditions on Ukraine, that it can't, for example, join NATO, they don't believe, that they should not expect a return of all the territory they've lost to Russia, that there will not be U.S. boots on the ground if there is some kind of ceasefire in which it needs to be policed. That will not involve the U.S., no security guarantees required. on that front.