Experts offer insight on U.S.-Ukraine deal, European relations

From the U.S. halting military support to Ukraine to America’s role in the NATO, questions have arisen about how the United States’ role on the international stage might be changing.

Virginia Tech foreign relations experts Dimitris Tsarouhas, visiting professor of political science, and Yannis Stivachtis, professor and director of the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies, share their insights on the country’s handling of foreign affairs.

The clash at the White House between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and possibilities for an agreement to invest in and protect Ukraine’s mineral reserves

“The deal is an attempt by the Trump administration to secure the dominant share of postwar proceeds in Ukraine. This rhymes with the president's complaint about the high sums that the U.S. has paid out to Ukraine to date,” Tsarouhas said.

“The absence of security guarantees makes the deal rather one-sided in favor of the U.S. - and sends a message to Ukraine that fast-paced negotiations to reach a ceasefire are now needed,” Tsarouhas said. 

Still, there are questions about what this peace strategy would do, Stivachtis said.

“The situation in the battlefield in conjunction with the reluctance and/or inability of European states to send troops to Ukraine, and the decision of the U.S. administration to halt the delivery of military aid and possibly military intelligence gave no choice to President Zelenskyy,” Stivachtis said. “The questions now are - what this peace strategy would look like and how far this strategy can go to accommodate Russia’s conditions and demands.

The United States and NATO

“In the absence of a global government, the United States and other states with significant military strength have the responsibility for managing global security affairs,” Stivachtis said. “Due to the fact that regional security supports global security, the involvement of the United States in European security affairs through NATO is only logical, if not imperative."

Still, each U.S. administration sets the tone for the country’s relationship with European allies, he said.

“Remaining in NATO will mean continuing to take responsibility for the alliance's capacity to respond to external threats, from Russia and China in particular,” Tsarouhas said. “It also means that the U.S. would continue to place its extensive nuclear stockpile at the disposal of NATO members under attack by non-NATO members.” 

How other countries view the United States, based on recent events

Tsarouhas said some U.S. allies are disappointed. 

“Allies discern the possibility of an isolationist U.S. giving up on its multilateral commitments and them having to shoulder much more of the burden that the U.S. used to undertake in economic and security terms,” Tsarouhas said.

On the other hand, adversaries to the U.S. may feel emboldened.  

“Those who are emboldened are optimistic that the U.S. will no longer dictate the rules of the global political and economic game and agree to a division of power among great powers that will allow them their own spheres of influence and geopolitical clout," Tsarouhas said.

About Tsarouhas

Dimitri Tsarouhas is a visiting associate professor and a member of the outreach and engagement committee for the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies at Virginia Tech. He also is head of European Union projects and partnerships and program director for the Türkiye Research Program.

About Stivachtis

Yannis Stivachtis is professor of political science and the Jean Monnet Chair at Virginia Tech. He currently serves as director of the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies. His research is related to security/strategic studies with particular emphasis on European security and transatlantic relations, U.S. national security strategy, European global strategy, and the EU’s foreign, security, and defense policy. More on his background here.

Schedule an interview

To schedule an interview, contact Margaret Ashburn at mkashburn@vt.edu or 540-529-0814, or Jenny Boone at jennykb@vt.edu or 540-314-7207.