Even Trump's tariff threats can't drive Europe to make Russia its partner

As the US demands more from Europe and castigates it ever more stridently, it’s increasingly clear that Russia is missing a historic opportunity. If President Vladimir Putin hadn’t made Russia an unreliable partner for its neighbours, he’d be poised to realize his fondest dream: of displacing the US as Europe’s security guarantor.

US pressure on Europe has gone far beyond President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and military-spending harangues. US officials are demanding obedience in many other areas, too. This month alone, Gordon Sondland, Trump’s envoy to the European Union, said the EU “really should be linking arms” with the US to