Military expert Masala: Europe needs its own Ukraine strategy

Berlin – Following the Ukraine summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, military expert Carlo Masala is calling on Europe to develop its own strategy to resolve the conflict. It appears as if Trump has once again sided with Putin, Masala told the Funke media group (Sunday editions). "And that is catastrophic from a Ukrainian perspective." Europe must "free itself from this erratic perspective of Trump." The previous European policy of repeatedly trying to "get Trump back on track" is not productive. It is necessary for Europe to "develop its own strategy, independent of these fluctuations in Washington, and to use the tools at its disposal," Masala said. Europe has still not made a decision on whether to make the 300 billion euros in frozen Russian assets available to Ukraine. Putin, Masala continued, emerged from the summit as the clear winner: It was a meeting of equals, thus erasing the humiliation caused by former US President Barack Obama, who had described Russia as a regional power. "Russia is once again a great power; that's its self-perception."