On December 3, special agent of US President Donald Trump, Mr. Steve Witkoff, visited Moscow to discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin about possible directions for a peace deal with Ukraine. The meeting also involved President Trump's son-in-law, Mr. Jared Kushner.
Speaking after the meeting, the Russian leader described the talks as necessary and utility, but stressed that he had rejected some parts of the US proposal.
For his part, President Trump said the delegation returned with confidence that both sides wanted an end to the conflict.
In response to such signals, some European officials believe that Mr. Trump could well reach a separate deal with Moscow, forcing Kiev's remaining allies to fend for themselves in the conflict without military or security support from Washington.
A Western official was interviewed and even warned that the worst-case scenario is for Washington to completely withdraw responsibility from the conflict, ease pressure on Russia, ban Ukraine from using US weapons and end the sharing of intelligence.
The official also gave another scenario, which would be less harmful, for the US to withdraw from negotiations but still sell weapons to NATO to transit to Ukraine, while maintaining intelligence cooperation.
Not stopping there, concerns continued to rise after Mr. Trump announced a 33-page National Security Strategy, warning that Europe was at risk of being "erased" if there was no political and cultural reform.
The document said that European allies have unrealistic expectations about the conflict and show lack of confidence in dealing with Russia, while affirming that the US remains open to diplomatic channels with a structure with Russia when in line with Washingtons broader interests.
There is still a risk of the US withdrawing from all this and letting Europe take care of it, said John Foreman, a former British defense attache in Moscow and Kiev.
