The political mood in Germany is one of disbelief. Leading politicians are working feverishly to respond to new realities following a weekend that showed Europe's largest country that the geopolitical landscape has fundamentally changed. Most importantly, this means adopting a clearer stance, especially towards the US and Russia. And strengthening the military.

"For the foreseeable future, the US will not be a reliable partner for Europe in terms of values and interests," political scientist Carlo Masala told Deutschlandfunk public radio on Monday morning. "But in some cases, they will certainly have more interests in common with us than with other countries," Masala added. "In such cases, I believe that Europe will be more attractive to the US as a partner if it is independent and sovereign," said Masala, a professor at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich.

This comes in the wake of the major scandal that unfolded at the White House in Washington last Friday, when US President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of live cameras and renounced any ties of solidarity with him.

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As Claudia Major of the German Institute for International and........

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