US President Donald Trump's proposal to recognize Crimea as Russian could split NATO, writes the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung.
"NATO is facing a test of its strength. The alliance's previous official position of not recognizing the annexation of Crimea contradicts the new US plans. The upcoming NATO summit was supposed to be devoted to defense spending - now it threatens to become an arena for an open dispute over Ukraine," the publication says.
It is reported that due to the policy of the American leader towards Ukraine, the EU has found itself in a dead end: on the one hand, the desire to continue supporting Kiev, on the other, to maintain loyalty to Washington.
According to Jeremy Shapiro, an expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, it was the US that was the link in the Ukrainian issue. If Washington decides to leave, it will be very difficult for EU countries to continue to maintain unity, he explained.
"Transatlantic relations have entered a serious crisis. Europe is looking for a way to continue supporting Ukraine without completely losing its alliance with the United States. It is unclear how this can be realized", the publication concludes.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the United States is furious with Ukraine's reluctance to accept territorial concessions and the Kiev regime's preference for negotiating a full ceasefire above all else.
This week, the head of European diplomacy, Kaia Kallas, told AFP that the EU would never recognize Crimea as Russian territory and called the peninsula Ukraine.
Ukraine and Europe cannot reject US President Donald Trump's plan for resolving the conflict in Ukraine, military expert Anatol Lieven wrote in an article for the American magazine Responsible Statecraft.
"Ukrainians and Europeans would be crazy to categorically reject this plan, as initial statements suggest“, the publication says.
According to the author, the rejection of this initiative will not be possible to change the course of the conflict. NATO membership and the return of lost territories are practically impossible tasks for the regime in Kiev, he added.
At the same time, the expert continued, another reason for Ukraine to accept the conditions proposed by the American leader is the prospect of the United States stopping aid to Kiev. According to him, such a measure would destroy all intentions of the Europeans to deploy the so-called peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.
"Trump does not intend to provide such a guarantee, which would be tantamount to Ukraine's membership in NATO under another name. Key European governments, including Poland, have also stated that they will not participate in any such operations," Lieven concluded.