Trump says Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end Russia's war there.

President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that there would be an expectation that U.S. firms may do business in Russia in the event of a peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Speaking in Munich last week, America’s vice-president, J.D. Vance, offered a taste of how the home of fine wines, classical architecture and welfare cheques faces humiliation, when he ridiculed Europe as decadent and undemocratic.

Germany's election winner Friedrich Merz warned the United States on Monday against turning its back on allies but also urged Europeans to build up their own defence capabilities.

Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his opposition conservatives won elections on Sunday, in a vote that also saw surging support for the far-right.