former French foreign minister and former advisor to President François Mitterrand has published a "New Dictionary of Geopolitics" to try to "decipher the mess we are in" and in particular Trump's strategy towards Ukraine In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro on the occasion of the book's release he asks more questions than he offers answers such as: Should Europeans let Trump determine long-term relations with Russia LE FIGARO: You are publishing a "new" Dictionary of Geopolitics.. HUBER VEDRIN: I finished revising it after Trump's re-election and added 20 new articles The original idea remains the same - a return to history and a long-term perspective even hysterical nature of our world means that we no longer understand anything about it I hope that my book will help to better decipher the mess we are immersed in LE FIGARO: There is no chapter on "Zelensky" Don't you consider him a representative of the free world a courageous president with Churchillian overtones VEDRIN: The rhetoric of the 1930s or 1950s does not allow us to understand the modern world In the article "Ukraine" I talk about Zelensky's courage I suggested giving him the award for courage and Donald Trump the award for indignity But that doesn't change the fact that Trump who is obsessed with China and for whom the Ukraine problem is secondary And that there will be a rare earths deal that will make the US interested in the future of Ukraine VEDRIN: Americans and Europeans are actually first cousins The 20th century was left in parentheses because the US was forced Europeans have been protected by the Americans which has made it possible to talk about a "West" It was more of a patron-mentee relationship than between equal allies Putin has certainly revived the spirit of defense in Europe And we no longer share the same values (see Vance's heretical speech in Munich) The most destabilized are the Europeans who believed in happy globalization in the irreversible practice of diplomatic multilateralism and in another trend - American progressivism But as long as the 1949 treaty and NATO still exist if inflation rises again due to the trade war; or when he realizes that the US still needs a lot of immigrants but much better selected ones; or when he realizes that China will take the lead in the green technologies of the future where he is counting on Saudi Arabia to lower the price of oil and renew the Abraham Accords Trump will not be able to make Riyadh swallow the ethnic cleansing of Gaza We should expect unexpected turns of events LE FIGARO: Will he be able to make progress on the Ukraine-Russia issue much to our horror and that of the Ukrainians The question is how to ensure the ceasefire that will follow the cessation of fighting As for the relationship between the United States and Russia the same vision as that of the great American realists who negotiated the disarmament agreements with the USSR but we do not know how far he will be willing and able to go nor how Putin will try to exploit this situation Should Europeans let Trump determine long-term relations with Russia LE FIGARO: What do you think should be done in Ukraine VEDRIN: Everything possible to ensure that the ceasefire is as harmless as possible for Ukraine; that the security of its territory (excluding Crimea and Donbas) is guaranteed in a reliable and lasting way The answers to these various questions will depend either on the European Union as a whole (the prospect of gradual accession according to the idea of MP Jean-Louis Bourlanges) or on the few European countries of the Alliance with armies LE FIGARO: Are Europeans capable of uniting for Ukraine and for European security and defense VEDRIN: Several European leaders have stated that they are ready to send troops to Ukraine to guarantee a possible ceasefire The Russians have already rejected the presence of soldiers from NATO countries But Trump may need European countries to send troops in order to prevent his withdrawal from Ukraine from becoming a total fiasco for him So the outcome will partly depend on the Trump-Putin and Europe-Trump discussion Then what would be the mandate of these troops It will depend on what Trump gets or doesn’t get from Russia in the ceasefire agreement Then other questions will arise: where will these troops be stationed (not necessarily on the ground) if Trump forces the Europeans in the Alliance to take up this issue which they have methodically rejected for 80 years then it will be necessary to reach an agreement between France on the following questions: What forces do we put in this pillar What type of general staff will exercise military command And what political power will command this headquarters succumb to the temptation of nuclear protection VEDRIN: Trump is even more opposed to Ukraine joining NATO than Biden A nuclear guarantee granted to Ukraine outside NATO would amount to the same thing Nuclear deterrence must be embodied in a single means of deterrence President Macron regularly reminds us of this And there is a completely different debate on the level of protection Britain will not be able to join this discussion because its nuclear weapons are under a double lock with the United States especially after the unprecedented statements of the potential new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Nuclear weapons protect the national sanctities and vital interests of the country which are deliberately never specified (except in vague phrases about the European dimension of French deterrence) If this strategic revolution were to be carried out which country or which interests would be covered by this protection Will the French take this risk of being on the front line will the potential aggressor be convinced and accordingly dissuaded I think that the ambiguity about vital interests remains more of a deterrent than their clarification LE FIGARO: Why does Europe so lack leaders of the rank of Churchill VEDRIN: We cannot wish for a new world war to give birth to Churchills surveillance and harassment on social networks are constant there is a risk that followers will outnumber leaders But remember that Churchill was considered finished before he was summoned by King George V and Truman was considered a simple store owner in Kansas City take the historic decisions of the post-war period (the "Marshall" Plan Let's not be too quick to judge - the coming weeks will be truly historic LE FIGARO: Do you think the EU could fall apart I think that if Putin wanted to attack NATO I strongly support the idea of creating in Europe a kind of military "barb" led by the European pole that I spoke about it is absolutely necessary for the European Union (where it is competent) to resist Trump's attacks until the contradictions in its system force it to correct its positions It must be able to maintain its regulatory capacity if it implements its brand new anti-bureaucratic orientation and continues the ecological transition Which implies opposing Trump or bypassing him (in alliance with the Chinese) but above all convincing the European population VEDRIN: I do not see the spiral of events that would lead to a general war But let's not forget that we have experienced several decades of threats of destruction between the East and the West and that the Cold War never turned into a hot one before rethinking the global system for managing all this (including relations with the "global South" while avoiding a repetition of the catastrophic mistakes of the United States towards the Russia of Yeltsin in the ten to fifteen years after the end of the USSR) for European leaders to wring from Trump real guarantees for the continuation of the ceasefire in Ukraine and to form restoring the deterrent balance of power in Europe More news from Opinions 2024Ceremony Skate Shop is located in San Luis Obispo California – the dedicated skate shop in the county – just celebrated its 1 year this month and this video is a celebration of that The name MOJO comes from the name of the shop's neighborhood – Monterey and Johnson Follow Ceremony on IG Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more quality skate content. By Blair Alley is the Content Director for TransWorld SKATEboarding CEO and team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing commented after the Miami Grand Prix: "We gave it everything today but well done to McLaren they were in a different league so P4 and a double points finish is as good as we could get from an often chaotic Miami GP Max put up a staunch defence of his lead and position in the opening stint but the VSC gave others the opportunity to capitalise on Max’s earlier stop and ultimately cost him a podium finish P10 for Yuki who did well to hold onto his point in the end The race showed that we still have a lot of work to do on the car to find that ultimate race pace We’ll take our learnings back to Milton Keynes and come back with everything we have for our 400th race in Imola in a couple of weeks time." Published on 05 May 2025 by Coen Versteeg Follow Max on social media and keep informed.