EU Leaders to Grapple With Trump’s Russia Gambit: What to Watch

The European Union (EU) Social Summit in Brussels on March 19.

Photographer: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu/Getty Images

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European Union leaders will aim to affirm their plans to bolster defense spending at a summit Thursday, but now face a more pressing concern: whether they will have a role in US President Donald Trump’s efforts to fast-track a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Leaders from the 27 members will meet in Brussels after Trump’s phone diplomacy with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy — after having so far been left out of the negotiations.