European officials came to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January thinking they would find time to discuss with their counterparts from the United States the state of Ukrainian peace talks, a senior European official told Foreign Policy. Instead, they were obliged to focus on avoiding a military conflict with their fellow NATO member over Greenland.

Now, in the aftermath, there are murmurs in Europe of the need for a Plan B. French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have both called for direct talks with Russia as the bloc tries to slowly but surely reduce dependence on the United States, especially in matters essential to its security.

European officials came to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January thinking they would find time to discuss with their counterparts from the United States the state of Ukrainian peace talks, a senior European official told Foreign Policy. Instead, they were obliged to focus on avoiding a military conflict with their fellow NATO member over Greenland.

Now, in the aftermath, there are murmurs in Europe of the need for a Plan B. French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have both called for direct talks with Russia as the bloc tries to slowly but surely reduce dependence on the United States, especially in matters essential to its security.

Europeans must “find the right framework to talk properly” with the Russians, Macron said in late December, describing the situation—Europeans in the back seat as the United States leads peace talks between Russia and Ukraine—as “not ideal.”

“It will soon be useful again to talk to Vladimir Putin,” he added. Meloni said she believed “the time has come” to speak to the Russian president. “If Europe speaks to only one of the two sides on the field, I fear that the contribution it can make will be limited.”

António Costa, the president of the European Council that manages consensus between the 27 European Union member states over key issues, told a small group of journalists including FP on January 27 that although he didn’t advocate for a parallel process that could impede U.S.-led talks, the Europeans must be ready to negotiate with Russia if needed.

The shift in European strategy is triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump himself, who has not only left Europeans out of the room while drafting a peace that has a direct bearing on European security. Trump’s 28-point peace proposal for the Russia-Ukraine war offered to reintegrate Russia into the global economy and, according to the Wall Street Journal, promised restoration of the flow of Russian energy supplies to........

© Foreign Policy