Five years ago, at the beginning of 2020, the first reports came in about a viral infectious disease in China, and so, I believe it was at the end of February, the infections had by then reached Europe, and the whole corona issue started to become increasingly prominent. In the summer, I then received the question: can you make videos and say something about it as well – and that is what I did. And what I can remember from that is that, at least in the beginning, it was not clear to me at all what exactly was going on. I found it all, yes, the information about it, very thickly laid on and actually did not really get a grip on what exactly we were dealing with, except that you ask yourself: Is everything that is happening actually correct?  Now, five years later, something completely different is happening, and I must say that this time I have been able to see better what exactly has happened. I am not used to watching a lot of videos on YouTube because I find it far too exhausting, but of course, sometimes I do watch, especially when such exciting things are happening, in a week in which first Macron, then Starmer, and then Zelensky go to the White House. You then naturally feel: that is high tension. And that high tension is of course related to the fact that Europe believes that – if I may give it a female identity – that she, Europe, must have a part in the negotiations for a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia – and Ukraine most certainly.  On the other hand, Trump already said before he became president: within 24 hours, I will solve that problem there. Well, that has not succeeded so far. But his firm intention to put an end to that terrible war there, he keeps repeating, and he has set something in motion that has particularly irritated Europe, namely that he wants to conduct negotiations with Russia and initially without Europe being involved. When you gradually see that happening and you can look a little into the motives of what is going on, then it seems clear – at least that is what I think – that Trump is of the opinion that if peace must come, can come, between Ukraine and Russia, then it must be negotiated very cautiously, and that you must, therefore – he believes – actually proceed like a businessman to get a deal there. So, you must not want certain things of which you know in advance that they are not going to happen. That does not seem unreasonable to me in itself, right? If you want to achieve something, then it is good to know which things you can achieve and which things absolutely not. And I have gotten the impression that that “absolutely not” has to do with an American peacekeeping force in Ukraine. The peace between Russia and Ukraine could be concluded, provided that it is not demanded that a peacekeeping force be installed in Ukraine, and I think that has ultimately led to this peculiar situation in The Oval Office last Friday, which was also preceded by something that I found so peculiar.

I already said: I do not watch a lot of videos, but sometimes you do watch something, and usually, that is exactly what you need. You do not actually need to watch everything because you are already watching what you need. And then I saw that Trump – and I think it must have been a press conference, but I am not entirely sure anymore – was asked the question: Next Friday, Zelensky is coming to sign the agreement on minerals. And then Trump said: Is he coming himself? Oh, oh yes, well, if he wants that, then that is fine.  I do not know if that is acting, right? I cannot see that far, but I did not get that impression. What made a great impression on me was that he actually preferred not to have this. He would rather sign that agreement with others than with Zelensky himself. And then you could say: yes, there is a lingering antipathy based on the past. That could all be, but I think that in the current situation, Trump knows very well that Zelensky wants something of which he knows that it is not going to happen. Zelensky then comes, and I think he was also told in advance that he should let go of that subject, of those security forces in Ukraine. But of course, he gives the impression of someone who – yes, he is not a diplomat. I also found it quite remarkable that someone asked: Why do you never wear a suit? And then he said: When the war is over, then probably, but not now. That is also the impression he gives; he is not, he does not come across as a diplomat, he comes across as a soldier, that is how he moves around the world and shows that he is in a country at war, and it does not suit him to appear there in a suit, but rather in a kind of soldier’s outfit. And to me, it makes a somewhat compulsive impression, how he constantly tries to bring up what he wants at all costs, namely security forces, while diplomatically speaking it should actually have been clear – and I think it has also been said – that that should actually be left alone for now. And Trump also keeps saying that all the time: let’s first make sure we get that treaty, and then – No, he wants, and Europe also wants, that it is established before the treaty is signed. And Trump knows: that is not going to happen. But then you have a sketch of the difficulties. And I have always had a problem with choosing a side. I think: yes, this is not a football match, not Ajax-Feyenoord or something like that, where you support Ajax because you were born in Amsterdam, for example. Here, you see two people on the world stage, and actually, you can understand both of them. Look, the nature of Zelensky is so completely different from the nature of Trump. If you have met many people in your life, then you recognize that type, that soul type of Trump, then you know, you have to go along with it a little, and then you get everything done. But if you go against it, well, then everything falls apart too, right! Then you also have a very hard time. Then you could also say – which I found quite a funny remark: Trump has an ego as big as the whole world. Then you could say: I do not want to deny that, but yes, that is of course easily hurt perhaps. But you could also see it differently. If you have a person with power and the ego is as big as the whole world, then you can also expect that he stands up for that whole world as if it were for himself. That would, of course, be a very beautiful display of power. So I cannot choose, I cannot say: Yes, I am for … or for … that is just not possible, right? You see two people, and you can understand both of them. You can understand that Trump, from his nature as he simply is – and that is why they chose him, because he is like that – that he knows how to negotiate, how to make deals, and he knows that you should not want impossible things because then it will not work. So of course, he has long had in mind what is possible and what is not. And Europe, along with Zelensky, now wants exactly what is not possible, and you also see after the argument that Europe desperately starts working to do exactly what is actually not possible. And then it is said: It will take a very long time before peace comes. And then it probably will not come at all, because it is not going to work. So what is actually going on? Is it the case that Europe does not want peace at all, is it the case that Europe is actually, as it often seems, looking for conflict with Russia? Or is it the behavior of an offended entity that was not allowed to be there and now, with all its might, is trying to be involved and is screaming so loudly that you can no longer overlook it? Then you see another conversation of Trump with journalists after Friday, in which he still says that he wants to see that war ended, and in which he says: Yes, I have very good relations with Europe, I know a number of leaders personally, and as he always does, he says: they are good friends of mine, and I have already spoken to them again on the phone. So what are we actually dealing with? That is the big question. As far as I am concerned, it is clear that a treaty with Russia, in which it must be stated that there will be a peacekeeping force, seems – if you look at how this is going – that is not going to happen.

An agreement between the United States and Ukraine regarding raw materials, which must state that America, as a form of retaliation for that, essentially provides a peacekeeping force, is also not going to happen. So it had to explode there in the Oval Office on Friday.

Where is this heading? I find it very exciting because it is a powder keg—that’s what it is—and in a powder keg, you should not keep throwing matches. One has already been thrown in, and there has already been a significant explosion, and of course, this should not keep repeating itself. So where is this going? Has humanity learned enough from the past to now solve this in a good way—with mutual understanding is probably too much to ask? It is not a football match; it is a global issue, and it is, of course, never the case that one side is completely right and the other completely wrong. Eventually, it could turn out that way, of course, but now you see certain lines becoming visible. And as far as I am concerned, I actually find it quite clear what should happen, but that will probably not happen. And what is also an important point is that Europe as a continent has a very different quality—excuse me—than, for example, America as a continent. The population of America, in its deep roots, of course, has a lot of European influence—also other roots, but a lot of European influence. And in Europe, the characteristic feature is that many peoples, who are fundamentally different, must find a way to get along with each other. You can see it immediately—it does not work, right? I mean: Starmer wants something, Macron wants something else, and what Macron wants, Starmer does not want. Why not? Because they are such completely different peoples, they have very different directions of will, and yes, in that sense, Europe can never really become one people, which you see much more in America. There, it has become a kind of integrated whole, but here, in Europe, everything is differentiated. That is also the beauty of Europe. And if you feel Europe between East and West—yes, then Europe still has to learn to make its own quality visible and bring it into culture if it wants to survive this sandwich position, where it now finds itself as the filling. That is something that can be concerning. On the other hand, perhaps some political leaders have gained more awareness over the past century, preventing such an escalation as we are seeing now from leading to where it could lead. That is my view at the moment. We will have to see what happens next.  One can hope that the relationship between Zelensky and Trump will be restored, but as I see it developing here, that seems like an extremely difficult matter. And the question is: how will Europe manage to make its voice heard in this sandwich position—not from a place of resentment, but from its own quality?

That is all for now.