Europe Confronts Atlantic Nightmare

"The free world needs a new leader," the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas declared on Saturday, capturing the sentiment in Europe as the continent confronted what officials privately described as their worst nightmare: dealing with a bellicose Russia alone.

- Agencies

BRUSSELS:

The extraordinary scene of Donald Trump berating Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office left European capitals in shock, with heads of states coming out in explicit support of the latter.

According to officials who spoke to Bloomberg, many officials and diplomats are now viewing Friday's developments in Washington as a signal that the trust and values binding the transatlantic alliance since World War II may no longer be shared.

Russian threats: Nuclear deterrence for Europe French President Emmanuel Macron moved swiftly, announcing he is ready to open discussions on nuclear deterrence for Europe, suggesting France could help protect other EU countries against Russian threats.

"I am available to open this discussion...if it allows to build a European force," he told Portuguese TV RTP in an interview he posted on X. "There has always been a European dimension to France's vital interests within its nuclear doctrine."