On February 3, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte affirmed that trade tensions caused by US President Donald Trump will not affect the collective deterrence capacity of this military alliance.
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| NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to reporters in Belgium on February 3. (Source: NATO) |
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has arrived in Brussels, Belgium, for an informal meeting of European Union (EU) leaders to discuss European defense.
AFP news agency quoted Mr. Rutte's statement to the press after meeting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the meeting as saying: "There are always problems between allies - things are not always nice and smooth. But I am absolutely confident that this situation will not hinder the common determination to maintain deterrence."
President Trump has shocked some of Washington's closest partners by imposing tariffs on NATO member Canada and threatening to do the same with the European Union (EU).
Targeting America's NATO allies further undermines confidence in the United States' commitment to its allies, after Mr. Trump previously raised doubts about his willingness to defend Europe.
In addition to trade threats, the White House chief also put pressure on Denmark - another NATO member state - by declaring that it would control the autonomous territory of Greenland.
Asked whether Europe should plan to defend itself without US support, NATO's secretary general responded that imagining the military alliance without a key US role was "absurd thinking".
According to Mr. Rutte, the European defense system “would be useless” without the US: “A NATO, or whatever name it was then called, would not survive without Washington, for many reasons... The best thing the West could do was unite and I know this thinking still prevails in the US, including in the White House.”
Mr Rutte also sought to temper President Trump's desire to annex Greenland by suggesting that NATO should play a greater role in bolstering defences in the disputed Arctic region.
“I think it was very helpful that President Trump alerted us to the fact that there is a geopolitical and strategic issue going on in the Arctic… As an alliance, we will always look at the best way to ensure we are able to address those challenges,” he said.
Similar to Mr. Rutte's view, also at the meeting in Belgium, the country's new Prime Minister Bart De Wever declared that it is a mistake to think that Europe can defend itself, while emphasizing that the continent needs to maintain its alliance with the US within the NATO framework.
Mr Wever also pledged that his new government would increase defence spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), the level set by NATO in 2014.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/du-thanh-vien-soc-vi-hanh-dong-cua-tong-thong-trump-nato-van-quyet-bam-viu-my-den-cung-noi-ngo-ngan-neu-xa-roi-vong-tay-washington-303069.html
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