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19. August 2025

Prof. Dr. Heinemann-Grüder at WDR on meeting between Western heads of government and Zelensky in Washington Prof. Dr. Heinemann-Grüder at WDR on meeting between Western heads of government and Zelensky in Washington

On August 18th, Prof. Dr. Andreas Heinemann-Grüder joined as a guest the WDR Aktuell program. In the interview, the political scientist and Eastern Europe expert described the background and consequences of yesterday's summit meeting in Washington between the heads of government of Germany, France, Finland, Great Britain, Italy, EU Commission President von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Ukrainian President Zelensky, and US President Trump. The summit had been proposed by Donald Trump after he had met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska last Friday.

The summit meeting on the war in Ukraine in Washington, D.C., on August 18th, 2025.
The summit meeting on the war in Ukraine in Washington, D.C., on August 18th, 2025. © WDR
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Prof. Dr. Andreas Heinemann-Grüder explained that the Europeans powers invited in Washington are concerned with “damage control” in order to participate in a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine that is drawing nearer. However, Prof. Dr. Heinemann-Grüder expressed doubts about the effectiveness of European participation, as Trump wants to resolve the war in Ukraine without European support. The security expert described Europe's current position in the Ukraine war as “[...] an expression of [Europe's] years of submission to the US.” Consequently, Europe is now "paying the price".

The interview with Prof. Dr. Heinemann-Grüder is available between minutes 09:00 and 12:35.

https://www1.wdr.de/fernsehen/wdr-aktuell/videos/wdr-aktuell-clip-wdr-aktuell--18-08-2025--2145-100.html

Prof. Dr. Andreas Heinemann-Grüder is a Senior Fellow at CASSIS, an Extraordinary Professor of Political Science at the University of Bonn and a Senior Researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC)