Europe’s answer

This was Europe’s answer to Putin

Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson

Standing with President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday, President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine and European nations not to “throw a wrench” in what he called important progress.

This was a classic attempt to split the Western alliance.

Monday’s White House meeting was Europe’s answer.

It felt historic, stirring echoes of the great allied gatherings that ended World War II.

The European leaders dropped everything to rush to Washington because they were alarmed at what happened in Alaska, which reinforced their doubts about the constancy of an American president who has frequently berated NATO.

But this was the way the West is supposed to work.

Each European leader asked to speak by Trump addressed a separate issue. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump’s proposed three-way summit with Putin and Zelensky should have a fourth seat — for Europe. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed for the ceasefire that Putin has refused, with Trump’s acquiescence. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised the importance of security guarantees for Ukraine modeled on NATO’s mutual defense clause.

It was a remarkable show of unity from leaders spanning the ideological spectrum from liberal centrists like Macron to the populist conservative Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. EU-deserter Britain stood firm with its partners across the water. Trump’s visitors were deeply prepared and displayed synergy that a diverse bloc almost never musters.

Trump’s visitors said he’d gone further than anyone with his peace effort. They were striving to construct a political and even emotional rationale for a pliable president to stay engaged in the long term for a truly just peace, rather than the one Putin wants.

None of this will bridge the many apparently irreconcilable differences between Russia and Ukraine.

But you can be sure Putin was watching.