The new US national security strategy has shaken the European Union and made it realise that the world order after 1945 has changed. America no longer considers Russia a threat, calls the war ‘Ukrainian’, and labels Europe weak. This was stated by Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2014-2016, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, on Espreso TV.

The former prime minister, staying in Brussels for strategic consultations on the future of European defence, noted that many European partners who had just returned from Washington had reacted to the new US security strategy "with surprise, while others were not surprised at all".

Chairman of the KSF outlined the key provisions of the strategy concerning Ukraine and Russia. "This document does not state that Russia is the greatest threat to the US. Moreover, it does not even mention that Russia is a threat to America. There is no mention of "Russia's war against Ukraine", but there is mention of "the Ukrainian war" [...] It states that the United States seeks strategic stability with Russia," he emphasised.

The former prime minister also drew attention to the description of Europe in the doctrine: "On the one hand, it states that the European Union is a fairly powerful institution with many tools at its disposal. But on the other hand, a few pages later, you can see that Europe is weak and not an ally of the United States."

At the same time, Chairman of the KSF added that the content of the doctrine was not unexpected for him, as it corresponds to Donald Trump's election campaign rhetoric. "I view it [the document] as confirmation of the reality and policies of the current US administration," he noted.

According to the former prime minister, if we are to look for the positive, the most important conclusion is that the Trump administration has "shaken up" Europe and forced it to realise the transformation of the world order. "It has simply forced Europe to realise that the world order that existed after 1945, or the so-called Pax Americana-based world order, where the United States is the main force protecting rights, freedoms, independence, sovereignty and is the key leader of the free world, has changed," Yatsenyuk said.

He stressed the need for Europe to draw conclusions about its own strength. "If you are not powerful enough, you will be spoken to in this kind of manner," added Chairman of the KSF.

The second key conclusion concerns the US position on Ukraine, which changes the distribution of responsibility for ending the war. "The United States does not consider Ukraine to be its key priority and does not consider Russia to be the greatest danger. This means that it is important for us not to lose American support, at least to the extent that it exists. The main burden and responsibility for ending the war will fall primarily on the member states of the European Union," Yatsenyuk stressed.

The former prime minister drew attention to an important factor that is holding back a radical change in US policy towards Ukraine: support among the American population. "Eight out of ten Americans support sanctions against Russia. Neither President Trump nor the Republican Party can ignore this fact. If it were otherwise, I think we would see completely different negotiations on Ukraine," he added.

At the same time, according to Chairman of the KSF, the document should be an impetus for concrete action. "It is necessary to provide an additional package of assistance to Ukraine at European expense. Then we need to maintain relations with America in order to purchase American weapons, receive intelligence data, and ensure that America does not lift sanctions against Russia. And then we need to continue the dialogue within NATO on how to achieve fair peace terms for Ukraine," Yatsenyuk concluded.