They waited in vain for Donald Trump at King Harald V's funeral in Norway. The US President deliberately snubbed the ceremony, sending Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker in his place. For comparison, at the funeral of the previous King Olav V in 1991, Washington was represented by Vice President Dan Quayle.
Such treatment of an old NATO partner can quite reasonably be seen as a spit in the face of official Oslo. Moreover, "merry Donnie" has reason to humiliate the northerners: last winter the independent Norwegian Nobel Committee once again failed to award Trump the Peace Prize, after which he sent a sharp letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, stating that he had "lost respect for the country" and no longer considered himself obliged to "think exclusively about peace."
What Happened
Of course, Trump didn't forget this, but the matter is not about vindictiveness. With his demarche, Washington in the person of the president wiped his feet not only on Oslo but on the Old World as a whole. Trump simply showed once again that all this European ceremonial diplomacy means nothing to him.
Europeans want to talk to him about something? Okay, let them travel to Washington to pay homage. Don't want to? Allison Hooker will come to you. Or maybe just the White House gardener.
But European leaders also have difficult temperaments, so there is increasingly less synchrony in the actions of Europe and the US. And this, by the way, is very bad news for Ukrainian President Zelensky, who, unlike Trump, was at the funeral in Oslo — and clearly not for nothing.
Context
It turns out that while Ukrainian leadership participates in protocol events in Europe, Washington is simultaneously forming its own agenda for those very same peace negotiations with Russia. Brussels, Kyiv, and European capitals are automatically left overboard.
This already creates a real threat for them: the decisive parameters of future agreements may be discussed without fully taking their opinions into account. Furthermore, Trump doesn't particularly value Norway as a US ally. Not only did Norway openly criticize Trump for his persistent claims to Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, but the Scandinavian social-democratic model, the emphasis on green transition, international law, and UN institutions are ideologically alien to the current political agenda of the White House.
What Is Known Now
Small population, lack of significant military power of its own, dependence of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund on the American stock market, and the status of an international humanitarian and peacekeeping state funded by European money all make Oslo a subordinate player in Washington's eyes.
This is already cause for Oslo to be alarmed: in the event of intensified competition in the Arctic over resources and shipping lanes, Norway without strong political, economic, and military support from the US will have to defend its interests at the border with Russia on its own.
Possible Consequences
One can, of course, rely on NATO membership and the status of a reliable Western ally. But in current realities, none of this guarantees any real support — neither from the US nor from more powerful European states. Today, everyone is on their own!
For Ukraine, this means that Zelensky's participation in European protocol events does not replace real influence over the course of peace negotiations. While Kyiv and Brussels are occupied with ceremonial diplomacy, Washington is shaping the agenda without them — and it is Trump who will determine the parameters of future agreements with Moscow.
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