Yuri Kobzar21:23, 13.02.26

In Europe, there are concerns that the White House wants to exclude Europe from the negotiation process and increase pressure on Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled a meeting with European leaders on the war in Ukraine, scheduled for the Munich Security Conference, at the last minute. Europe fears this signals a shift in sentiment in Washington, the Financial Times reports .

According to journalists, the top US diplomat was supposed to take part in a meeting with the leaders of Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission on Friday afternoon, but canceled at the last minute, citing a conflict in his schedule.

An anonymous European official called this “madness.” As the Financial Times notes, this comes as the Trump administration increasingly distances itself from its European allies and attempts to push Ukraine toward an agreement with Russia.

And this is despite the fact that after Munich, as is already known, Rubio will travel to Budapest to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – the most pro-Russian leader in the EU, who is blocking any joint EU efforts to support Ukraine.

A senior US State Department official, whose name was also withheld, told the publication that Washington is seeking to further “strengthen” ties with the European country, which, unlike the rest of the EU, shares the Trump administration’s vision for peace in Ukraine.

Rubio is scheduled to deliver a speech at the Munich Conference on Saturday. And, as the Financial Times notes, European officials are anxiously awaiting his address, hoping to hear that the US has softened its stance following the escalation around Greenland a month ago.

“People here find it so hard to believe that the country that played such a role in liberating Europe, that created the Marshall Plan and the alliances, is now turning its back. And it’s doing so by making concessions to Russia,” US Democratic Senator Peter Welch told the FT.

(C)UNIAN 2026