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      Wednesday briefing: Is Zelenskyy playing political poker – or Russian roulette?

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      Good morning.Talks. Istanbul. Thursday. In the geopolitical equivalent of a playground challenge, the latest move in the back-and-forth brinkmanship between Russia and Ukraine has seen President Zelenskyy call Putin’s bluff.The Russian president crushed moves by Ukraine and its European allies to force a ceasefire by instead demanding peace talk negotiations in Istanbul tomorrow. In response, Zelenskyy challenged him to travel to Istanbul to meet him face to face.Putin has yet to respond, but these latest manoeuvres by both Ukraine and Russia – who seem very far away from being able to negotiate a mutually agreeable peace deal – share one thing: a desire to get Donald Trump on their team at the negotiating table.With Trump signalling that he could take a break from browsing private jet interiors in Saudi Arabia to join the party in Istanbul, we are either gearing up for an extraordinary photo opportunity or a complete damp squib if neither Trump nor Putin shows and the deadlock continues.For today’s newsletter I talked to our central and eastern Europe correspondent, Shaun Walker, about the latest round of power games, and whether there really is any prospect for peace in Ukraine.Five big stories

      US politics | Donald Trump says he will lift sanctions on Syria and meet with the country’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, during his tour of the gulf states. Sharaa’s pitch to woo the US offered access to Syrian oil, reconstruction contracts and to build a Trump Tower in Damascus.

      UK news | Peter Sullivan, who has spent 38 years in jail, has had his murder conviction quashed in what is thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history. Sullivan was wrongly convicted in 1987 for the frenzied murder of a florist and part-time pub worker, Diane Sindall, 21, in Merseyside.

      Conservatives | An MP has been charged with sexual assault over alleged incidents at London’s Groucho Club in 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, was charged with two counts of sexual assault against two separate women, said the CPS.

      Assisted dying | At least five MPs have decided to vote against the UK assisted dying bill, the Guardian understands. It comes as the Scottish parliament votes to consider a bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people for the first time.

      UK news | A man has been arrested in connection with a series of suspected arson attacks on property linked to Keir Starmer, Scotland Yard has said. The 21-year-old was arrested in the early hours on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and remained in custody, the Metropolitan police said.
      In depth: ‘Putin doesn’t want to be in a room with Zelenskyy. This is what Ukraine is banking on’View image in fullscreenThe past few days have seen intricate displays of diplomatic cat-and-mouse as Ukraine and Russia try to gain the upper hand while facing increasing pressure to end the war in Ukraine.There is much at stake. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have lost their lives. Last night the air raid sirens were still wailing across Kyiv as hopes of an imminent ceasefire were once again crushed.What moves towards a peace deal have happened in the past few days?Last weekend, things seemed to be going well for Ukraine. Zelenskyy’s one-to-one meeting with Trump at the Vatican had helped repair the rupture caused by the extraordinary press conference in the White House, and momentum appeared to be with him.After recent attempts to get Russia to agree – and actually stick to – a ceasefire had failed, last weekend saw frustrated European leaders travel to Kyiv with an ultimatum for Putin: agree to a ceasefire or face new, tough sanctions.Yet Putin had other ideas. Undermining Zelenskyy’s insistence that a full ceasefire should begin ahead of any peace negotiations, Putin went on Russian TV to propose direct talks between Russia and Ukraine and named the time and place: Istanbul, on Thursday 15 May.Trump weighed in. Posting in his usual capital letters on his Truth Social platform, the president said that Ukraine should agree to Putin’s demand for a meeting immediately. “I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin,” he wrote. “HAVE THE MEETING NOW!!!”Zelenskyy took Putin’s challenge and raised the stakes. He said he would travel to Istanbul personally and challenged Putin to do the same, saying that the two leaders should meet face-to-face for the first time since 2019.Since then, Putin has gone quiet. With the Kremlin refusing to comment, Ukraine has been ramping up the pressure. Yesterday, Shaun attended a bullish press briefing and then a sit-down interview with Zelenskyy. “His message is Ukraine is not the one to blame,” says Shaun. “He is saying to Trump that we are doing everything you ask. We’re not the problem here.” What are the peace talks in Istanbul?At the moment there is no detail on what will and won’t be discussed on Thursday, or even who will be the ones doing the negotiating.Shaun says that while Putin’s holding position is to give the impression that he wants to negotiate, Russian demands at the talks on Thursday – regardless of whether Putin shows or not – are likely to be pretty much the same as the demands they were making at the beginning of the conflict, which include Ukraine dropping its aspirations to join Nato, give up territories taken by Russia and scale back its military.On the other side, Ukraine wants to be a sovereign nation and an independent, democratic country with links – and ideally Nato membership – to the West. They will find it politically difficult to cede territory to their enemy.“My reading is that it is very clear that Putin’s only goal for Ukraine is for it not to be a threat – in the way he perceives it – to Russian interests, and become this beacon of ‘anti-Russianness’ that will cause him problems,’” Shaun says. “At the talks, the Russian delegation will most likely continue pushing for terms that will still be fully unacceptable to Ukraine.”How likely is it that Putin will show?Shaun says that he’d be very surprised if Putin makes a personal appearance in Turkey on Thursday. “Putin doesn’t like being pressured into things. He doesn’t want to be in a room with Zelenskyy. This is what Ukraine is banking on,” he says. “I’d give it about a 5% chance that somehow Putin and Trump talk to each other this week and both go. I think the most likely scenario is that we’ll have Zelenskyy in Istanbul on Thursday recording a video saying, ‘Look, I’m here but nobody else turned up.’”At the moment Zelenskyy is travelling to Ankara, the Turkish capital, to meet with its president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and will go to Istanbul if Putin shows. It’s unclear if he will be bringing a delegation with him who could start talks with the Russian team in the absence of Putin.In some ways, Zelenskyy calling for a personal summit with Trump is potentially a high-stakes move, because if Putin does show up then Ukraine could face pressure to show they are willing to concede to some of Russia’s demands. Yet Shaun thinks a Putin no-show at this point is almost certain.How much is this all about Trump?Shaun says that the only thing uniting both Russia and Ukraine at the moment is their desire to get Trump onside.“Ever since that disastrous White House meeting, Zelenskyy has been trying very hard – and with some success – to get Trump back on Ukraine’s team,” says Shaun.Trump knows he wields huge power and influence on the global stage and hasn’t been afraid to use it. Since he took office, he has become increasingly frustrated with the Ukraine war and wants to show that he can do what he promised the US voters would be easy – to end the war and use whatever aggressive boardroom tactics he has at his disposal to force the two sides to bend to his will.He is currently in Saudi Arabia for a lavish four-day trip where he hopes to enrich both the US and his own family with a raft of multi-billion dollar deals (and fly home in his new Qatar-gifted luxury jet). Trump will want to build on this momentum and return home triumphant, able to say that he is dictating the terms of global politics.The danger for Ukraine, says Shaun, is that even though the Biden administration moved much slower than the Ukrainians would have liked, America has been Ukraine’s most significant ally, providing weapons, intelligence sharing and other support.“Now with Trump they know he doesn’t like it when things get difficult so their fear will be that he’ll just give up and say, ‘Sorry, this is your mess to fix,’ and walk away like he’s promised to do so many times,” says Shaun.Shaun says that for Russia, Trump bailing on the war would be a good outcome. “If the negotiations fail and Trump walks then Ukraine could risk losing US support, which would be catastrophic for them.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionIf the talks fail, what next?Shaun says that in the event that nothing is agreed in Turkey, the big question will be whether the Europeans can get Trump on board and once again ratchet the pressure up on Moscow for a ceasefire. European leaders have indicated they will press ahead with further sanctions if talks this week fail to achieve real progress.The issue, as ever, is Trump’s unpredictability. “We know from experience that there could be a new command or request from the Americans at any time and everything could change again,” he says.In such a high-stakes game of political poker, it’s impossible to place a safe bet on what will happen next. Until then, the sirens will continue and the war will grind on.What else we’ve been readingView image in fullscreen

      In a gripping interview, Hannah al-Othman meets Nicola Packer, who was acquitted of using abortion pills to illegally end a pregnancy last week after a near five-year ordeal. “Abortion is healthcare. It should not be treated as anything other than that,” she says. Charlie Lindlar, acting deputy editor, newsletters

      With Reform UK on the rise and young men increasingly forming a core part of their voting bloc, Damien Gayle goes in search of answers as to why so many are increasingly turning to the right in this fascinating and sometimes chilling film. Annie

      Even as a Eurovision agnostic, Angelica Frey’s rundown of the 10 best songs at this year’s contest is a hoot. Estonian rap-dance, thinly veiled double entendres and … space dogs? There’s something for everyone. Charlie

      In this interview by Steve Rose for the Guardian’s long-running How we survive series, painter Patrick Dougher talks about how art saved him from the wreckage of generational addiction and gifted him a second chance at life. Annie

      In case you missed it: the online news site HuffPost turned 20 this month, and this oral history of the site, told through the bizarre and poignant splash headlines that became its trademark, is a joy. (It’s good to see many alumni have, like me, kept the pyjamas gifted to us by founder Arianna Huffington each Christmas.) Charlie
      SportView image in fullscreenFootball | Goodison Park has been saved from demolition and will become the country’s first major stadium dedicated solely to a women’s team next season, the Guardian can reveal. Hailed as a gamechanging move for women’s football, Everton Women will kick off their first season at Goodison in September.Cycling | Sir Bradley Wiggins has revealed he became addicted to cocaine after his retirement from cycling and is “lucky to be here”. The 2012 Tour de France winner and five-time Olympic champion said his children wanted to put him in rehab amid fears the issue could prove fatal.Football | Manchester United intend to retain Ruben Amorim as head coach next season even if they lose the Europa League final against Tottenham. The club feels the Portuguese deserves this summer transfer window to improve the squad.The front pagesView image in fullscreenThe Guardian’s headline is “Zelenskyy: Putin is the obstacle to a peace deal”, as the Ukrainian leader pledges to travel to Turkey for talks. The Telegraph claims “Hostile state linked to Starmer firebombs”. The i reports “New migrant rules boost UK hopes of softer Brexit deal”. The FT says “Beijing fears over UK-US trade accord cloud London’s bid to revive China ties”.The Mail leads on the quashing of Peter Sullivan’s conviction with “28 years in jail for a murder he didn’t commit”. The Mirror follows the same story with “Cleared after 38 years”. Finally the Times reports “Weight-loss drugs hailed as key to a longer life”.Today in FocusView image in fullscreenTrump’s ex-Russia adviser on the prospect of WW3Defence expert Fiona Hill on why the world becomes more dangerous when international systems break down.Cartoon of the day | Rebecca HendinView image in fullscreenThe UpsideA bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all badView image in fullscreenJennifer Hobson describes finding an adult grey seal named Pinkafo, close to death with a flying ring toy caught round her neck, as a moment that “broke my heart”. But it was a moment that changed her life too.Seven years on, Hobson is a leading seal welfare campaigner and author whose work has been recognised by the prime minister and led to retailers changing their product line to remove the potentially lethal rings. On 26 May, she will lead a national campaign to raise further awareness of their dangers. “Everyone can learn how to protect seals by swapping flying rings for seal-safe solid flying discs this summer,” she says.And as for Pinkafo? Thanks to Hobson’s intervention, she survived – and is believed to have later given birth.Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every SundayBored at work?And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.

      Quick crossword

      Cryptic crossword

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      E.U. Leaders Demand Russia Accept Ukraine Cease-fire by End of Day

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      The Kremlin brushed off the threat of further sanctions, saying that “the language of ultimatums is unacceptable.”European leaders stepped up pressure on Russia to accept an unconditional cease-fire in Ukraine, threatening to immediately impose a new round of punishing sanctions if the Kremlin did not change its stance by the end of Monday.“The clock is ticking — we still have 12 hours until the end of this day,” the German government spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, told a news conference.The ultimatum was the latest turn in an increasingly frenetic round of diplomatic brinkmanship as the Trump administration grows frustrated by a lack of progress in its efforts to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe in generations.On Monday, the Kremlin spokesman brushed off the threat.“The language of ultimatums is unacceptable — you cannot talk to Russia like this,” the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told Russian news agencies.President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has so far rejected an unconditional 30-day truce that was first proposed by the United States in early March and immediately accepted by Ukraine.Instead, Mr. Putin called this weekend for the resumption of direct negotiations with Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine responded by challenging the Russian leader to meet him in person.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Vance says Russia asking ‘too much’ in ceasefire talks with Ukraine

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      JD Vance has said that Russia is asking for “too much” in its negotiations with Ukraine in the latest sign of growing frustration from Washington with ceasefire talks to end the war between the two countries.Speaking at a security conference of senior military and diplomatic leaders in Washington, the US vice-president said that the White House is focused on getting the two sides to hold direct talks and is ready to walk away if certain benchmarks are not reached.“I wouldn’t say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution,” Vance said during an onstage interview with the Munich security council president, Wolfgang Ischinger.“What I would say is, right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much. OK?”Asked about those comments later on Wednesday, Donald Trump said: “It’s possible that’s right.”“We are getting to a point where some decisions are going to have to be made,” said the US president. “I’m not happy about it … I’m not happy about it.”Senior administration officials, including Vance and the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, are said to be growing more frustrated over Russia’s inflexibility in discussions to end the war. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy, has held four rounds of direct talks with Putin, but those have not yielded concrete concessions from the Russian side.During his remarks, Vance reiterated the threat that the White House would “walk away if [Trump] thinks he’s not making progress”.“In particular, the step that we would like to make right now is we would like both the Russians and the Ukrainians to actually agree on some basic guidelines for sitting down and talking to one another,” he said. “Obviously, the United States is happy to participate in those conversations, but it’s very important for the Russians and the Ukrainians to start talking to one another. We think that is the next big step that we would like to take.”After meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican last month, Trump threatened Russia with secondary sanctions over the continued bombardments of Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities despite talks to reach a permanent ceasefire.“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote then. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently.”Senior Russian officials have maintained a hardline position, demanding both a rollback of Nato as well as limits on Ukraine’s security and a degree of control over its internal politics.“Marco Rubio expressed yesterday, I think, also the assessment that they had the American team now is getting a better understanding of the Russian position and of the root causes of this situation,” said Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, during an interview on Meet the Press last week. “One of this root causes, apart from Nato and creation of direct military threats to Russia just on our borders, another one is the rights of the national minorities in Ukraine.”Joe Biden in his first interview since leaving office accused Trump of “modern-day appeasement”, saying the expectations that Ukraine ceding territory to Russia would end the war was “foolish”. More

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      The Zelenskyy-Trump deal – podcast

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      After the heated exchange between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February, the prospect of a deal between the US and Ukraine was uncertain.“Every week, it feels like we get a new position from Donald Trump,” Andrew Roth, the Guardian’s global affairs correspondent based in Washington DC, tells Michael Safi. “Sometimes we get multiple new positions from Donald Trump in a single morning. Nobody really believed that that was going to happen until the two names were on the dotted line.”And yet, last week the countries agreed a momentous minerals deal, agreeing to split future profits of the minerals industry in Ukraine 50/50.“We’re talking about natural gas, oil, possibly, but more importantly we’re talking about critical earth minerals. These include a couple of things, lithium, graphite, titanium. These are rare, important, critical minerals that are used in all kinds of industries around the world,” says Roth.Does US economic interest in Ukraine bring the country closer to peace?Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/todayinfocuspod More

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      Mike Pence rebukes Trump over tariffs and ‘wavering’ support for Ukraine

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      Donald Trump’s tariffs policy will trigger a “price shock” and possible shortages, and lead to public pressure on him to change his approach, the former vice-president Mike Pence has said.In one of his most wide-ranging critiques yet on the policies of the president he used to serve, Pence, speaking to CNN, derided the White House’s “wavering” support for Ukraine and declared – in direct contradiction of repeated assurances from Trump – that President Vladimir Putin of Russia “doesn’t want peace”.Pence’s comments came in an interview after receiving the John F Kennedy Profile in Courage award in recognition of his refusal to bow to pressure from Trump to overturn the 2020 presidential election when he presided over Congress’s certification of the results on 6 January 2021.The vice president’s determination to carry out his constitutional role and certify Joe Biden’s victory presaged an attack on the US Capitol by a violent mob, who chanted “hang Mike Pence”, as the vice-president was spirited to safety by security personnel.Pence told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that Trump’s decision to pardon about 1,600 convicted rioters after he returned to office in January “sent the wrong message”.“I was deeply disappointed to see President Trump pardon people that engaged in violence against law enforcement officers that day,” he said.Addressing tariffs – which Trump has made a signature policy of his second presidency while implementing a 90-day pause on exports from most countries after international markets plunged – Pence said they were “not a win for the American people” and warned that their worst effects had yet to be seen.“I do have concerns that, with the president’s call for broad-based tariffs against friend and foe alike, that ultimately the administration is advancing policies that are not targeted at countries that have been abusing our trade relationship, but rather are essentially new industrial policy that will result in inflation, that will harm consumers and that will ultimately harm the American economy,” he said.“Even the administration has conceded that there may be a price shock in the economy, and there may be shortages” after the current pause expires, Pence said.He said the White House was in danger of stoking a political backlash, citing Trump’s recent comment that tariffs might result in American children having two dolls instead of 30 and that “maybe the dolls will cost a couple of bucks more”.“Keeping our kids’ toys affordable: that really is part of the American dream,” he said.“I think the American people are going to see the consequences of this. I think they’ll demand a different approach.”He criticized the administration for threatening to abandon support for Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump has publicly blamed for Russia’s invasion, while repeatedly praising Putin – relenting only recently after the Russian leader rebuffed peace offers and instead ordered missile attacks on Kyiv.Pence said: “If the last three years teaches us anything, it’s that Vladimir Putin doesn’t want peace; he wants Ukraine. And the fact that we are now nearly two months of following a ceasefire agreement that Ukraine has agreed to and Russia continues to delay and give excuses confirms that point.“The wavering support the administration has shown over the last few months, I believe, has only emboldened Russia.”He was equally scathing about Trump’s stance towards Canada, which he had hit with trade tariffs and said he would like to annex as the 51st US state.Pence, by contrast, called Canada “a great ally, whose soldiers have fought and died alongside Americans in every war since world war one”. More

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      More American Air Defense Is on the Way to Help Ukraine

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      A Patriot air-defense system is moving from Israel to Ukraine, and Western allies are discussing the logistics of getting Germany or Greece to send another.Ukraine is getting more help in its war with Russia.A Patriot air-defense system that was based in Israel will be sent to Ukraine after it is refurbished, four current and former U.S. officials said in recent days, and Western allies are discussing the logistics of Germany or Greece giving another one.The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, declined to describe President Trump’s view of the decision to transfer more Patriot systems to Ukraine, nor did they comment on whether it was made before he took office, during the Biden administration.The White House’s National Security Council does not provide details on the strength and placement of defense systems, said James Hewitt, a spokesman for the council. “President Trump has been clear: he wants the war in Ukraine to end and the killing to stop,” he said.The Defense Department said in a statement that “it continues to provide equipment to Ukraine from previously authorized” packages, referring to weaponry pulled from existing inventories and new purchases.The delivery, which has not been previously reported, comes as Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine, including an April 24 missile strike on Kyiv that was the deadliest since last summer.A year ago, allies struggled to answer Mr. Zelensky’s demand for seven Patriot systems. Although Ukraine now has eight, only six are functioning. The other two are being refurbished, one of the U.S. officials said. With the one from Israel, and one from Germany or Greece, Ukraine would have 10 Patriot systems in total, largely to protect the capital, Kyiv.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      A plea to the West: help us save America’s democracy | Anonymous

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      Donald Trump and his political allies in Washington have undertaken far-sweeping actions to undermine the foundations of American democracy, while simultaneously pursuing policies that erode and disrupt eight decades of trust and cooperation with democratic allies in Europe, North America and Asia.While leaders in these countries grapple with what is happening in Trump’s America, they must now ask themselves a new and critical question of immense relevance – one that has never been asked before in the modern era:“As nations who were helped by America in world war two and who have depended on the United States for our security, do we now have an obligation to reciprocate and help tens of millions of Americans whose liberty is threatened? Should we – can we – do anything to help the American people in their moment of democratic peril?”Yes. I firmly believe that the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan have a historic obligation to the American people to do what they can to help us preserve our democracy. An America descending into authoritarianism also poses a threat to the democracies they lead.I have two memories that speak to how foreign democracies should think about what they see happening in the United States of 2025.When my mother passed away, I found a small ceramic teapot in her cupboard with gold lettering on the bottom that read: “For England and Democracy. This teapot was transported to the USA by the Royal Navy.” My mother had purchased it during the early days of the second world war to support Britain and its people. Ordinary Americans such as my mother were doing their part – however small – to support a democratic country besieged by Nazi Germany.During the cold war, I remember hearing American presidents deliver speeches that were highly critical of the Soviet Union. At the end of these remarks, they would sometimes take a moment to directly address “the Russian people”. Our presidents were saying: “We see you as victims of oppression. We know that you are suffering under a cruel regime, and we hope that someday, in some manner, you will be free from the yoke of Soviet communism.” I know that when these messages got through Russian jamming, they were heard and gave some degree of hope to large segments of the Russian population.These two memories tell me that fundamental bonds based on enduring values can exist between governments and peoples who are not citizens of that government. Freedom, democracy and the rule of law can be those values. They also say that in the modern world, ordinary citizens in one nation can take a range of actions to support governments and citizens of another country.Today’s America is a place of fear for many. Americans are afraid that their livelihoods will be destroyed by a president who exercises unconstitutional acts of political retribution against his “enemies”. His targets: universities, law firms, corporations, states, certain agencies of his own government, and any federal employee who dissents in public. The judiciary and the media have been targets of vicious verbal attacks from Trump and his allies in Congress, which are precursors of actual future assaults. Foreign students, permanent residents and immigrants are rounded up and deported using highly questionable methods.European, Canadian and Japanese leaders are having a difficult time adjusting to this new American reality. The muscle memory of 80 years of intense cooperation, and in some cases dependency on the United States, is very difficult to break.I know the questions these leaders must be asking in private: is the United States becoming our adversary and perhaps our enemy? Will we be alone in our battle against the authoritarians in Russia and China? Will Trump and Elon Musk use governmental power and immense personal wealth to undermine our own democracies by encouraging the growth of far-right, anti-democratic forces in our countries? How can we protect ourselves when the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world is in rapid retreat from justice, from economic reality, from science, from policies that protect global health, while it aggressively pursues actions that accelerate dangerous atmospheric warming to the detriment of all?The silence of European, Canadian and Japanese leaders in the face of the US’s democratic crisis is both understandable and deeply disappointing. But make no mistake, their silence is a betrayal of their historic obligation to the American people as well as their commitment to democratic forces the world over. There are at least three difficult steps these leaders should consider.First, they must form common cause with the American people – not our government – and publicly state what they are saying in private. American democracy is in peril from an increasingly lawless government in Washington. They need to acknowledge that if American democracy erodes and dies, democracies the world over will be less safe. For the first time in history, Americans need to hear a message from foreign democratic leaders in support of preserving and sustaining our 249-year-old republic. You owe us at least this if you believe in democracy.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionSecond, take steps that begin to isolate the United States in world diplomacy that indicate strong disapproval of Trump’s activities to curtail democracy and his efforts to strengthen ties to authoritarian governments such as Russia. Refuse to visit the United States and make it clear that the US president is not welcome in Europe, Canada and Japan. If the US slips further into authoritarianism or undermines your own democracies, consider suspending the G-7’s yearly meetings and taking further actions to indicate that diplomatic business as usual will not be the norm as the Trump administration pursues an anti-democratic path.Third, move aggressively to act as Trump attacks our great universities and science centers, weakens countless not-for-profit organizations including our national museums, cultural centers and public media, as he moves to destroy US humanitarian relief efforts, as he terminates prior US environmental commitments and repeals laws and regulations designed to slow the climate crisis. Invite Americans engaged in these endeavors to work directly with the people of Europe, Canada and Japan and your like-minded institutions to support these American entities because they are part of our democratic fabric. And they often better your own societies and help people the world over. Establish and encourage the creation of people-to-people initiatives that will bring Europeans, Canadians, Japanese and Americans closer together to carry on what Trump and his allies are either destroying or weakening.I know that taking these actions will be extremely difficult. Trump will respond with verbal assaults and irrational retaliation because his power is unchecked. He and his allies will accuse you of interfering in our domestic affairs. In forming common cause with Americans fighting for our democracy, I deeply regret that you will begin to understand the growing fear that grips all segments of our society, and the retaliation visited every day upon the American people and institutions Trump deems as “enemies”.Defending European, Canadian and Japanese economic interests from Trump’s obsession with tariffs and other harmful actions he may take in the foreign policy arena, though important, does not repay the historic debt that you owe the people of the United States to help us preserve our democracy. I ask you to understand that staying silent as Donald Trump weakens American democracy will not deter him from harming your democratic societies. And your silence can only serve to embolden him in his efforts to erode the democratic standards embedded in the US constitution.

      The writer is a former US diplomat who wishes to remain anonymous More