And the “confront China” thing is totally up in the air.
Lets say the locals in East Asia are not taking this Russia stuff too well.
If Trump so wants to surrender to a decrepit Russia, what happens when its 3:00am and its China this time? Maybe its better to pre-surrender to China instead of hoping on the weak US reed.
Not true.
The challenge with China is to build up military strength in the Western Pacific to confront it.
That takes time so there is a combination of Trump saying “I want to meet Xi” alongside tariffs, the drama over fentanyl etc. and above all the military buildup in the Western Pacific.
Ukraine serves no useful purpose in tying down US military strength its ultimately needed to face China.
This whole drama now leads to Europe building up military strength.
It will contribute to the Western Pacific effort as well.
The European aircraft carriers and warships presence near China in the last year speak for themselves.