News
22.01.2025
Victor Pinchuk Foundation hosts discussion “Tectonic Shift? What A New US and Europe Mean for Ukraine” on the occasion of WEF 2025
Victor Pinchuk Foundation hosted the discussion “Tectonic Shift? What A New US and Europe Mean for Ukraine” during WEF in Davos (Switzerland). The event was held as a part of the project ‘YOUR COUNTRY FIRST – WIN WITH US’, organized by Victor Pinchuk Foundation and PinchukArtCentre in cooperation with the Office of the President of Ukraine. The project, which combines an ongoing discussion program and an exhibition, is an immersive intellectual and visual experience, and a space for dialogue and action.
Among the participants of the discussion were Charlie Gasparino, Senior Correspondent, Fox Business Network;
Niall Ferguson, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Walter Mead, Global View Columnist, Wall Street Journal; and Nataliia Gumenyuk, Co-founder, Public Interest Journalism Lab and The Reckoning project.
Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist, moderated the discussion.
The discussion covered the potential impact of the Trump administration, and the relationship between Trump and Putin, on the future of the Russian war on Ukraine, from the perspectives of Ukraine, Europe and the US.
Zanny Minton Beddoes started the discussion by asking panellists their thoughts on what the Trump Presidency would mean for Ukraine: “For months, people have been speculating about what a Trump presidency would mean for Ukraine. During the campaign, he said he would end the war in 24 hours. In recent weeks, that's become 100 days. He did not mention Ukraine yesterday in his inaugural address. So I think there is a lot of uncertainty about just exactly what he and his administration are trying to do, and over what time frame.”
Charlie Gasparino said: “You have to look at some of the fiscal realities and some of the political realities in the US right now. Over the last four years, we have had open borders, massive inflation and lagging wages. We have a real domestic economic problem, and a national security problem with the borders. So, this is going to be “America first” administration. However, Trump does not want to get taken to the bank by Putin, that will make him look weak and stupid to the world, and that’s something he hates.
“I hate to reduce this to interest rates, but debt will be a problem. That's a problem for further aid. Trump doesn't want to be a loser. He wants to be a winner. He wants to get a good deal for America, but he doesn't want to keep spending money on Ukraine.”
Walter Mead added: “Putin subjectively feels that he has outclassed every western leader he has been up against and he’s right. European and US leaders he has faced have simply not understood geo-politics. The degree of contempt Putin feels for the West should not be underestimated. The more he sees you want the deal, the more he won’t do it.
“A lot of US presidents have thought they can peel Russia away from China, but maybe Trump will try and peel China away from Russia. China likes stability, cheap oil. Trump likes people to understand who is the boss. He will play angles and try to do things that are surprising.”
Nataliia Gumenyuk stated: “Ukrainians are pretty practical. We are living that way and our thinking revolves around practicalities. I was speaking to officials yesterday who said that they were just rolling up their sleeves and starting to work with this new Trump administration and persuade them that the downfall of Ukraine would be seen as his downfall.
“For Ukrainians, no deal is better than a bad deal at this stage. It’s not that they are denying everything, but are considering what the guarantees would be – would it be NATO, arming Ukraine or EU support. We all agree that NATO and EU will be stronger with Ukraine. We are living in déjà vu. We know that we cannot afford to shoot ourselves in the foot again, we need to avoid another Minsk. I know the horrors; the executions and tortures. A cease fire would make Russia even stronger. Ukrainians won’t compromise.”
Niall Ferguson said: "The largest army and certainly the most capable army in Europe today is Ukraine's. Ukraine is at the cutting edge of the new generation of warfare and drone technology. Everybody in the tech sector who is remotely interested in def [defense] tech has to go learn from the Ukrainians. This makes Ukraine's defense capability an extremely valuable asset to Europe."
Walter Mead concluded: “Europe must change, or Europe will change. As Europe becomes less of a factor in world politics, the spaces around it are filled. This is a terrible thing. It's bad. It's bad for Europeans. It's bad for the United States. It is bad for human freedom. It is bad for the chance of human survival. It needs to change. Trump's election is a sign of the turning away from Europe.”
The project ‘YOUR COUNTRY FIRST - WIN WITH US’ is organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and the PinchukArtCentre in cooperation with the Office of the President of Ukraine.
The project ‘ YOUR COUNTRY FIRST - WIN WITH US’ located at Promenade 59, Davos, is a complementary event hosted on the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, in a space shared with Ukraine House Davos.
Agenda of the discussion program is available here https://www.winwithua.org/agenda
Photos are available here
Video is available here
