Why Europe shouldn't get too excited over Trump's peace drive I Berlin Briefing Podcast

“Somebody better decide pretty quickly whether they are prepared to have the risk of combat with Russian forces” Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton tells Berlin Briefing. In this episode, DW ‘s top political correspondents Michaela Küfner and Nina Haase unpack the question of security guarantees with Ambassador Bolton: Why the idea spooks German politicians into wanting to postpone the issue while German Chancellor Merz and his European allies still hope Trump will take the lead. Ambassador Bolton warns that that won’t happen. He predicts Trump will lose interest while Putin is playing for time.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Intro

01:45 Security guarantees key

03:30 No Article 5 protection

04:50 Define the mission

06:20 Risk of combat

07:29 German hesitation

09:20 Convince the public

12:10 Trump ≠ Strategy

14:45 No rushed peace

16:06 Keeping Trump on board

18:20 AfD call to war

20:20 German mandate votes

22:50 UN mandate

25:25 Bolton advice for Merz

26:55 End

LINKS:

Why military service is back on the table in Germany

https://youtu.be/zVKpygDF9es?si=OfNRA8vM2eCbptkD

What Trump’s power over Europe really means

https://youtu.be/EhNmp5y83ao?si=ZLnO12yPT5vOPesQ

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Post from DW News on August 21, 2025

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