European leaders may have rushed to Washington ostensibly to throw a protective arm around President Zelensky and head off any repeat of February's Oval Office bust-up.
But their real aim is to stop US President Donald Trump threatening long-term European security after his abrupt change of course over how best to end the war in Ukraine.
Not only did Trump drop calls for a ceasefire as a prerequisite for talks about long-term peace, he also - diplomats say - made clear he had no intention of imposing further economic sanctions on Russia.
In short, the travelling European heads of government – plus EU and Nato leaders - want to avoid not just confrontation, but also capitulation.
President Macron of France was the latest to use the C word, saying on Sunday: "There is only one state proposing a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia."
