EU leaders must master Trump management

It's like one of those slapstick comedies from the early days of silent films: the “Keystone Cops” movies, perhaps, or Buster Keaton’s various efforts. Lots of people rushing around, constant reversals of fortune, and many pratfalls.

- Gwynne Dyer

Last Wednesday, on very short notice, the presidents and/or prime ministers of all the other major countries in the Nato alliance got together online to prep Donald Trump for his “summit” meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

He had to be coached about his newly adopted positions defending Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity because everybody knows that Mr Trump tends to echo the views of the last person who talked to him, especially in subjects he doesn’t know about (which is most subjects).

So French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and sundry other European Nato notables drilled Mr Trump on what to say and what not. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky also got a few words in.

Most importantly, they all said, Mr Trump must insist that Russia accept a ceasefire before peace negotiations started. Otherwise, Mr Putin could drag the negotiations out forever while continuing to conquer more Ukrainian territory. Mr Trump was already quite cross about Moscow's foot-dragging on a ceasefire, so he seemed to take their advice seriously.