Donald Trump’s approach to the Ukraine war has led to “a lot of smiles in Moscow”, a former EU diplomat has declared.
Joao Vale De Almeida, who was the bloc’s ambassador to the United States, also accused the American president of living in “an alternate reality”.
And he said Trump “has shown more respect for Mr Putin and for Russia than for Europeans” in his desire to agree a peace deal to end the conflict.
De Almeida hit out after the US president launched a brutal attack on “decaying” Europe and described the continent’s leaders as “weak”.
Appearing on Times Radio, De Almeida accused the US president of siding with Russia in his attempts to end the war in Ukraine.
“We’re getting used to President Trump’s comments, but still the latest ones hit a delicate spot on our side,” he said.
“We appreciate President Trump’s interest in Europe, we are also interested in the United States, but we fear he is talking about an alternate reality.
“I don’t recognise myself in his description of Europe today, be it the European Union member states or the United Kingdom. We’re not going extinct or committing suicide.
“So allies have the right to be worried, to be concerned, to be happy with what the other partner is doing, but they don’t have the right to interfere. And what I see recently in some of the statements coming from Washington is a clear wish to interfere in our political process.”
He accused Trump of “endorsing parties that are on the extremes of the political spectrum”.
“This is very worrying coming from our most important ally and I am staunch trans-Atlanticist,” he said. “I’m sure there are a lot of smiles in Moscow these days.”
The former diplomat added: “We are not living in easy times. We have a security threat from Mr Putin, we have a potential threat from China, and here we are over the Atlantic being divided, being put apart by a president who is impatient for having results.
“We’re talking about the future of European security. If we rush into a solution of the Russian war in Ukraine, which does not guarantee the security of Ukraine or most importantly the security of the 27 member states of the European Union or the United Kingdom, our people will not forgive us.
“That’s why I’m very sad to see Mr Trump not showing respect for Europe. He has shown more respect for Mr Putin and for Russia than for Europeans.”
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated over his inability to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
A 28-point peace plan unveiled by the US last month was criticised after it appeared to reward Putin for his decision to invade his neighbour nearly four years ago.
A watered-down version of the plan proposed by Europe has been rejected by Moscow, leading to a stalemate and no imminent prospect of a ceasefire.
