America's New Enemy Is Russia's New Friend?

US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 Summit in Canada in June. Photo: Reuters

“Europe cannot continue to rely on the United States for its security,” the French president asserted in a recent foreign policy speech in Paris.

Relations between the United States and France had a promising start to the year. The “touchy” interactions between Donald Trump and Macron during their summit in April, when the two leaders planted trees on the White House lawn, were scenes that would never have predicted that just a month later, the two allies would turn against each other.

The first crack in relations came after Trump withdrew from the historic nuclear deal with Iran. Upon hearing of Trump’s withdrawal, France’s economy minister urged Europe to stop acting like “US vassals” and continue trading with Tehran despite what the “global economic police” had in store for the future.

Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs in September sparked global protests and retaliation from the European Union. Macron called the measures “illegal” and warned of “economic nationalism leading to war,” adding that this was “exactly what happened in the 1930s.”

“The reformatting of transatlantic relations under President Trump has gone very far,” said Yury Rubinsky, head of the French Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, adding that Washington had initiated such a change.

Independent journalist Luc Rivet put it differently: “The love story between Europe and America ended in a noisy controversy.”

Friends and enemies

Tanks parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris on the occasion of France's National Day. Photo: AFP

Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, abandoning the Paris accord, and imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum — the White House’s tough rhetoric seems to be pushing the EU further away from Washington. In fact, Trump set the stage for the rift between the US and the bloc during his presidential campaign, when he called the alliance a “hellhole” and a “mess.” Then, after winning the election, Trump noted that the US had “a lot of enemies,” including the EU.

That is why, in his speech on EU security, the French leader announced that he wanted to launch a security review involving all European partners, including Russia. Days later, in a press conference during a visit to Helsinki, Macron asserted that “having a strategic relationship with Türkiye as well as with Russia that brings stability, which in the long term will bring strength and cohesion” is good for the EU.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov believes that Macron’s stance did not form overnight. “The US course of action in the international arena makes everyone think,” he said.

No country with “an ounce of self-respect” can tolerate having its policies forced upon it, the senior Russian diplomat noted.

Yury Rubinsky - head of the French Research Center of the Russian Academy of SciencesMacron asserted that when he mentioned Russia, he was mostly referring to the crisis in Syria and especially the reconstruction of this war-torn country after the conflict is over. He asked: “Where will all the migrants go when the war is over? Who will pay for the reconstruction of this country?”

Rivet said Macron, the ambitious 40-year-old centre-leftist who is “very keen to play a major international role in the EU,” has failed to deliver on many of his ambitions. But he could “lead the way to reconciliation,” Rivet said. In addition, Austria and Hungary, as well as Eurosceptic parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and France’s National Rally, are calling for closer ties with Russia and pushing for sanctions to be lifted.

Illustration: Global Look Press

Europe is beginning to understand that sanctions against Russia are ineffective, while its economy is suffering. “European business and agricultural lobbying has been trying for a long time to convince European politicians to lift the common sanctions, which mainly hurt European agribusiness,” Rivet said.

However, Rivet also admitted that there was little Europe could do to confront Washington. “At best, the EU would negotiate to protect its companies and products that sell and trade with the US from further US sanctions,” he said. Speaking about the Iran nuclear deal, Rivet said that Europe had “absolutely nothing” and “can do nothing to save” the deal.

“No European company dares to oppose the US government on Iran sanctions. Europe will not really confront the US on Iran. European countries will definitely lose,” he asserted.

But Europe may be more likely to look closely at its eastern neighbour, rather than the country across the Atlantic. “Europe is completely paralysed when it comes to dealing with the United States, except, why not, to reopen the door to cooperation with Russia,” Rivet said.