It turns out that Donald Trump needs “pathetic” Europe after all.
In return for the Black Sea ceasefire, the US president promised to lift international sanctions on Russia. There is a problem: this is not in his sole gift.
Europe imposed unprecedentedly heavy sanctions as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine – and is a far larger market for Russia than the US.
Mr Trump cut the Europeans out of his peace talks with Vladimir Putin, but his mini-truce opens the door to the negotiating room a crack.
It is now up to Europe’s leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, to ram a collective foot in, and make themselves heard on the future of Ukraine and their own security.
EU widens sanctions regime
Moscow demanded sanctions be lifted in the food, fertiliser, shipping and agricultural machinery sectors.
It gave the game away by asking to be reconnected to global payment systems, a backdoor for a return to international banking and rehabilitation on the world markets.
The US never directly sanctioned Russian agriculture, but did restrict access to payment systems used for international transactions.
The EU has wide-ranging measures covering, among other things, banking and financial services, Russian-flagged ships and aircraft, agricultural machinery, and energy.
In February, the EU adopted its 16th package of sanctions, including bans on port access; restrictions on Russian regional banks, industrial and technological exports; and the suspension of Russian broadcasting licences, as well as measures against 48 individuals and 35 entities.
In March it imposed new tariffs on Russian agricultural products and fertilisers.
Britain and G7 allies like Canada and Japan imposed their own similar measures in lockstep.
Europe must stay united
It may not have much of a defence deterrent, but Europe’s huge market has been a potent weapon in isolating Russia with sanctions.
The Old World now finally has some leverage with Mr Trump, who has demanded it stand on its own two feet on defence and ignored its pleas to be involved in the negotiations.
The US president is likely to play hardball with “freeloading” Europe, which, in light of the leaked Yemen bombing group chat, we know the White House views as a bunch of troublesome satellite states.
Some of Mr Trump’s closest aides described the continent at “pathetic”.