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How will the US president behave at the NATO summit? After being withdrawn from many international agreements, the Allies fear the problems. The Secretary General of NATO, Stoltenberg, is heavily attracted.
By Kai Küstner, ARD-Studio Brussels
NATO faces the most difficult summit of its 70-year history: no one can rule out that US President Donald Trump divides another alliance after having announced numerous international agreements and subsequently, the G7 States' final document had withdrawn its blessing. Nevertheless, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is confident that the Alliance will survive, as he explains in an interview with the ARD-Studio Brussels .
Nevertheless, the Secretary General of NATO warns both sides of the Atlantic. The United States – just before the summit begins to close the unity: "The transatlantic friendship can only be maintained if both sides of the Atlantic have the political will to maintain cooperation . "
"Cohesion has already suffered"
According to Tomas Valasek, former NATO ambbadador to Slovakia, who is now director of the Carnegie Europe think tank, the cohesion of the Alliance has already considerably suffered since the inauguration of Trump. According to him, this has consequences on the basic structure of the Alliance. Even now, according to Valasek, deterrence is weakened. "Because we are dealing with an American president, who not only does not fundamentally disagree, but who is less interested in the idea of an alliance."
Stoltenberg is also the violent conflict that the Europeans had with them. the most powerful ally of the United States is present in many areas, well aware. However, in the radio interview ARD he is convinced that the transatlantic band will not break. President Trump is a different politician, he has a very direct language. There are also serious disagreements about the Iran-Iran atomic agreement, climate policy and trade. "But," he adds, "Trump has made public and speaking with me several times that it is NATO."
"The strategic goal of Putin is the division of Europe"
A few days after the summit In Brussels, the next summit is already planned for the US president. Then Trump meets Russian President Putin in Helsinki. A rally that has at least as much uncertainty for NATO as its own summit: if the message were to end up being that Trump understands Putin better than his allies, it would be a problem for the Alliance of the United States. point of view of the political experts. 19659003] "Putin's strategic goal is not the dominance of the Baltic states, its strategic goal is to divide the USA-Europe unit and divide Europe," says Thomas Carothers , expert from Carnegie Europe.
The alliance must be precarious live
Stoltenberg welcomes the meeting between Trump and Putin. Any attempt to reduce tension is good, according to Stoltenberg. Because dialogue is not a sign of weakness, but of strength. "It's good that US President Trump meets Putin after the summit," he said. "He will be able to discuss NATO's messages and approach with the other 28 Allies before meeting President Putin."
From NATO's point of view, it is beneficial that the Trump-Putin meeting takes place The summit takes place. Otherwise, Trump's message would have been in advance: Putin is more important to me than the Alliance.
One thing is certain: the alliance, which placed the security of its members on the flags, must live with imponderables nowadays, "
" The Federal Government must increase its budget "[19659006OneofTrump'sfavoritesubjectsisaccordingtohimamuchtooweakdefenseexpenditureonthepartoftheEuropeansandespeciallyofGermanyStoltenbergshowedintheinterviewwiththe ARD studio Brussels understanding for US requests. Trump had emphasized these by sending letters to a number of allies, including the German government. However, it is not unusual for NATO political leaders to write each other's letters, Stoltenberg said. He himself had already written letters.
Germany had increased its defense budget, Stoltenberg said. But he expects the German government to do more. Now, the big question is how vehemently Trump is asking for more money at the NATO summit – and he points this out with tangible threats, such as a withdrawal of troops. This, in turn, could seriously shake up the architecture of the alliance that has been built over the decades.
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