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MUNICH — U.S. President Donald Trump is a longtime fan of Winston Churchill. But what would Britain’s iconic wartime leader make of the Munich Security Conference in 2025? “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.” Those are the words Churchill thundered when then-Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain left this Bavarian city 87 years ago, clutching a piece of paper that turned out to be meaningless. Would that be Churchill’s reaction to Trump’s drive to end the war in Ukraine, with terms that Kyiv and its European allies fear will be favorable…

Thousands of activists demonstrated in Germany on Friday in a bid to raise awareness to climate issues ahead of the upcoming federal elections scheduled for 23 February. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Germany on Friday to protest and raise awareness to climate issues ahead of the country’s upcoming federal elections.Activists believe the climate crisis has been ignored in the upcoming German elections, scheduled for 23 February.  They say that other issues, like debates on immigration and the economy have largely overshadowed the pressing issue.Protesters held banners reading “Right on a future, instead of a right (wing) future”…

In reality, the WTO is breaking down, tolerating double standards and allowing members to play by different sets of rules. Asymmetry reigns instead of reciprocity. Carbon emissions are another variable that has dramatically grown for China since its accession to the WTO: They’ve increased by over 200 percent. And this increase offsets the rest of the world’s decrease by far. China accounted for nearly a third of global carbon emissions in 2021. That’s more than the United States, India, Russia, Japan and Iran — the subsequent five largest polluters — combined. Bottom line, the global climate crisis reinforces the need…

The analogy isn’t a new one — but commentators have long referred to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as President Vladimir Putin’s Afghanistan, given some of the parallels between the two wars. Beginning in 2001 immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks and ending in 2021 with the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops, the war in Afghanistan remains the longest American war in history. “Endless war, endless conflict, no way out of the conflict, eating up energy, human lives, money, everything,” Orbán said, continuing with his comparison. “Destroying the frame of normal life for the European Union. … We are in…

Meloni shot back the same day, standing by Mattarella’s remarks. “The insults of the spokeswoman … offend the entire Italian nation, which the head of state represents,” Meloni said. “I express my full solidarity, as well as that of the entire government, to President Mattarella, who has always firmly condemned the aggression perpetrated against Ukraine.” The tense exchange came at the end of a fraught week that left European leaders scrambling over the next steps in the Ukraine war. Leaders rushed to show solidarity with Ukraine and adjust to a post-American protection world in the hours since the Trump administration’s…

Vance railed against establishment politics, urged Europe to curb migration and compared EU leaders to Soviet commissars because they had criticized far-right leaders. The tongue-lashing cemented fears among Europe’s security elites that the United States was diverging from the transatlantic status quo at a rapid pace, and there was little they could do to stop it. “This is a new United States and it’s clear the old one Europe’s been used to for decades is gone,” said one former senior U.S. diplomat. “It could be this is the one wake-up call that actually wakes Europe up.” POLITICO spoke to 14…

“Looking at what Trump is saying, looking at what [Defense Secretary] Pete Hegseth is saying, they’re not betraying Ukraine,” Johnson argued. “They’re not walking away from Ukraine. They’re saying Ukraine’s got to be a sovereign, prosperous country. They’re saying that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin can’t win. They’re saying that they’ll continue to support Ukraine.” Since leaving office in 2022, Johnson has regularly visited the United States and lobbied top Republicans to maintain support for Kyiv amid signs of wavering. He has held talks with Trump on Ukraine, and met him at the Republican National Convention last July. Johnson defended the…

The vice president also criticized high levels of immigration, echoing themes that fueled Donald Trump’s return to power in the U.S. Vance said he’d pray for the victims of Thursday’s attack in Munich, where a migrant drove a car into a crowd, injuring dozens of people. But with Europe clamoring for clarity after comments from Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that cast serious doubts on America’s security commitment to Ukraine and Europe, Vance’s speech barely mentioned Ukraine and defense spending, the topics preoccupying European leaders in meetings with U.S. officials here. “It was stunning in it failing to address…

After Trump and Russian leader Putin sidelined Ukraine, announcing the start of peace talks before presenting the plan to Kyiv, Zelenskyy is bidding to win back a leading role at the negotiating table. “Trump is stronger than Putin, I think so. But these phone calls with Putin are risky to us,” Zelenskyy said. In 2019 Zelenskyy held direct talks with Putin about a cease-fire and prisoner exchange, as the Kremlin’s long-running war raged in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. While Putin indeed agreed to release 100 Ukrainian prisoners from Russia, his troops violated the cease-fire right away. “He will not stick…