Whether nuclear missiles in Britain and France will be enough: what Europe needs to stop Russia without the help of the US

The event should be prepared for what will have to defend itself without the help of the United States, warns by former UK Defense Minister, Sir Malcolm Rifkind in The Times. He advises to unite the nuclear forces of Britain and the EU. Donald Trump made Monday, March 11, the day that will be remembered as shameful. His statement that, if he becomes president after the upcoming elections, Ukraine does not receive a single penny of help, was as dangerous as it is stupid.

It was exactly what Vladimir Putin wanted to hear. He no longer assumes that he will have to make real compromises for the end of the war through negotiations. Thanks to the irresponsibility of Trump, Zelensky will negotiate from the standpoint of weakness. The Russian dictator will require not only the Ukrainian territory he has illegally occupied; Ukraine will also be obliged to abandon its independence and become a constant vassal of Russia as part of its "sphere of influence".

But Trump is not only dangerous, he is also a fantasy. He continues to say that he will be able to put an end to the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, if and when he becomes president. He made a similar statement during his last presidency, saying that he will be able to convince North Korea dictator to give up nuclear weapons if he and Kim Jong -in hold a bilateral summit. The result was a diplomatic fiasco and a humiliation of Trump.

Trump's threats will be carefully studied in Beijing, Tokyo and Taiwan, as well as in Kiev. Xi Jinping will be inspired by the fact that if the United States under the leadership of Trump refuses not only Ukraine but also the leadership of NATO and the West, their commitment to protect Taiwan's freedom, as well as the territories of Japan and South Korea will be seriously undermined.

India Prime Minister Narindra Modi will be asked if he was right by approaching the United States to help hold back Chinese aggression against Indian borders. However, in one respect, we must be grateful to Trump - he made it clear about his intentions nine months before the election of the next US President. Trump may be bluffing, but given his deplorable previous reputation, it would be a dangerous assumption.

The United Kingdom, Germany and France now have to admit that the US can cease to be a reliable ally and guarantor of Europe's security. Trump threatens not only Ukraine but also Europe as a whole. NATO countries should begin the fundamental expansion and modernization of our defense potential over the next five years to cope with Putin's hostile and aggressive regime.

Both the government and the Labor Party must recognize the need for a rapid increase in the UK's defensive costs to 3 percent of our GDP, with a similar increase in Germany and France. Europe is much richer than Russia and can solve this problem - if it has a desire. We also need to use new NATO and NATO Finland membership to help protect the Baltic countries. The Baltic Sea is currently in the vast majority of cases, NATO -controlled lake.

Russia's only way out to the Baltic is through a small area of ​​the coastline around St. Petersburg and the Kaliningrad enclave, clamped between Lithuania and Poland. If Russia is attacking the Baltic countries, now the defense of these states-unlike the past-could be exacerbated by air and sea from the Swedish fortress of Gotland, which is now part of the NATO territory. But there is another unprecedented threat that can arise under Trump's presidency.

For the first time in 1948, Europe may not be protected from the threat of nuclear war or nuclear blackmail by the Kremlin. This would be very serious, but there are already European remedies from Russian nuclear threat. The United Kingdom and France are nuclear states with significant nuclear arsenals. These arsenals, of course, are much smaller than in Russia, but they can still devastate Moscow, St. Petersburg and most of Russia as Putin could destroy Western Europe.

We and France will need to develop a new nuclear restraint strategy for our own safety and security in Europe as a whole. For the first time, I initiated negotiations between the United Kingdom and France about our joint nuclear weapons when he was the Minister of Defense in the early 1990s. These discussions were expanded by the following governments of Labor and Conservatives with French colleagues.

We now have to work with Germany and all our European neighbors to ensure that if Trump again becomes president and fulfill its stated threats, united ordinary and nuclear weapons of Europe will be able to protect democracy and freedom on the continent. Trump's prospect of becoming president can only be a bad sleep. One day he was rejected by the American community, but one day he won. Churchill said you can always count on what the US would do properly when they try all other options.

This is still probable, but it is not for sure. If Trump enters the oval office again, it can turn a nightmare. In the UK, there were differences with the European Union on many issues, but when it comes to national security, the interests of the United Kingdom coincide with the interests of Europe as a whole. They were the same as they were when the enemy was Napoleon, Kaiser or Hitler. Together we will preserve our freedom.