When United States forces abducted Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro in a violent operation last Saturday, most European leaders met the moment with tortured and convoluted statements. “This oil will be sold at its market price and the money will be controlled by me, as president of the United States of America, to ensure it is used for the benefit of the people of Venezuela and the United States,” he posted on his Truth Social site. “If the United States were to choose to attack another Nato country, then everything would come to an end,” she said. Before the two leaders met in South Korea last October, Trump floated the idea of a “G2”, made up of the United States and China, to lead the world. There appears to be little imaginative thinking in European capitals about Europe’s diplomatic and strategic options after the Ukraine war ends.
