Trump's push to end the Ukraine war Is sowing fresh fear about Nato’s future

Washington’s latest peace efforts have jolted the trans-Atlantic alliance

- Bertrand Benoit & David Luhnow

This week will bring a split screen that will reinforce growing doubts in Europe about the American commitment to the alliance that has served as the bedrock of Western unity since the end of World War II.

On one side, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff will be in Moscow for the latest round of peace talks with the Kremlin over the Ukraine war. Witkoff, who has yet to visit Ukraine, is making his sixth trip to Moscow this year.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be skipping a biannual gathering of NATO foreign ministers and sending a deputy in his place. The last time the U.S’s. top diplomat didn’t show up at the event was 1999, when Washington's focus was on Middle East peace, a former NATO spokeswoman said.

His absence will be felt acutely, coming as it does in the middle of peace talks over Ukraine that have prompted many European leaders to question whether Washington's priorities are still aligned with those of Europe.

A leaked peace plan and transcripts of a call between Witkoff and a top Kremlin foreign-policy aide have left many with the impression that the Trump administration is more interested in improving ties and economic cooperation with Russia than defending the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Two aspects of the 28-point peace plan, in particular, landed like bombshells in Europe's defense and foreign-policy establishment. First, the plan treated Russia as a clear winner and Ukraine as the loser, forcing Kyiv to give up strategic land it hasn't yet lost, shrink its military and leave it without an ironclad guarantee of protection from either the U.S. or European allies should Russia rearm and come back for more.

Second, it described the U.S. as a mediator between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, suggesting America no longer saw itself as a member of the alliance it has long dominated and which has guaranteed much of Europe’s security since World War II.