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Andrew Rettman: EUobserver Foreign Editor says the European Union is trying to stay relevant amid talks between Russia and the US · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: So the European Union has been holding an emergency security
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: summit with European leaders in Paris. The meeting was called
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: to discuss concerns around Huish officials meeting with Russia to
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: end the war in Ukraine, and that's happening in Saudi.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Andrew Ritman is the EU Observer Foreign editor, and he
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: joins me. Now, Hello, Andrew, Hi, nice to meet you.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Thanks for inviting me on.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: It's a place, a remarkable meeting, A bit of a
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: last minute scramble.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, yeah. I think Europe has been taken by surprise
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  Speaker 2: at the speed with which the Trump administration has moved
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  Speaker 2: with its Russia plans and as well by some of
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: its intervention to the Munich Security conference over the weekend.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: So what are they hoping to get out of this?
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  Speaker 1: And by the way, can I just say Donald Trump
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  Speaker 1: has had telegraph what he was going to do for
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  Speaker 1: a very long time. I'm surprised. People were surprised by it.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: But now they are meeting, and now they're talking. What
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: do you think they are hoping to get out of it?
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, to come back to your telegraph, I think you know,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Trump says so much and in the end does something
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  Speaker 2: completely different that the fact that he's actually taken action
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  Speaker 2: on this with the meeting in Dubai tomorrow is quite surprising.
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  Speaker 2: But moreover, it's what has been said around it. When
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  Speaker 2: his Defense secretary Pete Hexath came to Brussels last week,
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  Speaker 2: he basically gave away the crown jewels. He said Ukraine
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: would have to make all the concessions if it wanted
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  Speaker 2: peace with Russia and that Europe wasn't even invited to
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  Speaker 2: the table. So with your question, what are they trying
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: to achieve the day in Paris, I think they're trying
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  Speaker 2: to show that the United that they're relevant, that the
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: stakeholders in this, and that they have some answers to
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: what's coming next.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Something that happened that has not happened for a very
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: long time in my lifetime is that Sakia Stamer came
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  Speaker 1: out and said he is ready and willing to put
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: UK troops on the ground in the Ukraine. This is
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  Speaker 1: a very strong stance other leaders prepared to follow.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: It's a bold move. Yeah, and I think we've heard
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  Speaker 2: similar comments today from the Spanish Primate. The Dutch didn't
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: rule it out. I think even German chance that Olive
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  Speaker 2: Schultz said he might go for it, which is quite
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  Speaker 2: a big deal given the German Russian history around World
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: War Two and all the messaging there. Of course, fans
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: had already floated that bubble a long time ago. But
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  Speaker 2: I think that this is the thing that's going to
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  Speaker 2: come out of the summit today, a pledged by European countries,
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  Speaker 2: including mister Starmer, to put together a peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine. Now,
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  Speaker 2: whether we'll actually go forward with that is another matter,
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  Speaker 2: because a European peacekeeping contingent without a US security guarantee.
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  Speaker 2: Experts don't think that's going to scare put in the way.
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  Speaker 2: And Pete, he said, had also spelled out in excruciating
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  Speaker 2: detail that any peacekeeping force made up of NATO allies
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  Speaker 2: on Ukrainian soil won't be covered by Article five. That
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: means that if Russia attacks them next spring the spring after,
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  Speaker 2: the Americans won't come and bail out the Europeans like
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  Speaker 2: they have done since World War Two.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, I understand the meeting just wrapped up, so
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: we'll wait to see what releases come out of it.
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  Speaker 1: And Andrew Reritman, I thank you so much for giving
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  Speaker 1: us an insight into what is quite a remarkable day
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  Speaker 1: in history. You have to say.
• 3:09
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• 3:12
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• 3:15
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