Will U.S.-Russia Meeting Force Europe to Act?

After three years of war between Russia and Ukraine and no end in sight, returning U.S. President Trump now has Russia at the negotiating table. While many are hopeful that the war might end, this is not the way Europe or the rest of the world envisioned peace in Ukraine. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his team met in Saudi Arabia with their Russian counterparts to begin to repair the diplomatic rift between the two nations (AP News, February 18, 2025). While the talks did not directly outline a plan for peace in Ukraine, they apparently ended with both parties feeling positive about the future and planning to meet again. The talks ended with three goals for future discussions: “to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation.”

Although the meeting in Saudi Arabia did not outline a plan to end the war, many in Europe and Ukraine believed that they should have been involved in the process and felt snubbed by the United States. In response, French president Macron called an emergency meeting of EU leaders in France to discuss how to respond to the U.S.-Russia meeting and any peace plans that might result from it. The annual European Security Conference also took place in Munich last week, where many profound observations were made. As France’s minister of European affairs noted related to recent U.S. actions, “Denial is no longer possible. The message is clear: It’s time to take our [Europe’s] responsibilities, to safeguard our own security” (Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2025).

A former German defense official stated, “The question that is important to everybody is: Can we trust the United States of America?” Ukrainian president Zelensky, also present at the meeting, urged, “We must build the Armed Forces of Europe so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans and decisions about Europe are made in Europe” (MSN, February 17, 2025). The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced that she will “activate the escape clause for defence investments,” allowing EU nations to overspend their EU-legislated budget caps in the name of defense. Finally, German CDU head Friedrich Merz—who has been selected to become Germany’s new chancellor—commented about Germany’s future in Europe: “I fully agree with those who are demanding leadership from Germany, and frankly I’m willing to do that because I’m seeing that Germany is in a strategic position at the centre of Europe; that so many things in Europe depends on Germany.” And Bible prophecy reveals that Germany will lead Europe in the future!

The world is changing rapidly. What President Trump did not achieve in his first term by working with Europe—a European commitment to greater defense spending and less reliance on the U.S.—he may now achieve by actions taken outside of Europe. However, what we see playing out on the world stage is not the plan of Donald Trump or any human leader. It is Bible prophecy coming to pass as foretold long ago. The Bible describes the future emergence of an end-time European “beast” power led by Germany (modern-day Assyria)—one that will dominate the globe for a short time. It also predicts powerful regional rivals to the south (the “king of the South,” Daniel 11:40) and east of Jerusalem (“kings from the east,” Revelation 16:12).

Forces that may be pushing these prophesied power blocs to form at an even quicker pace are now at play. The old way of doing things is changing, and the Bible gives powerful insight on what is happening and what to expect. To understand just where these volatile events may take our world, read or listen to our informative booklet Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ’s Return.