NATO has given assurances that it does not see crisis in its relations with US, despite Trump’s criticism of Europe
Despite the harsh rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration toward European partners, NATO does not view this as a sign of deteriorating relations and expects the updated defense plans to be implemented.
This was stated by the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, according to Censor.NET, citing Bloomberg.
NATO has a clear defense planning mechanism
According to him, European allies are already responding to Washington’s calls to increase defense spending and are moving toward meeting the Alliance’s new targets.
He also noted that NATO has a clear defense planning mechanism that will allow member countries to gradually build up the necessary capabilities and reach the target spending level of 5% of GDP.
"We have NATO's defense planning process, which provides us with the necessary capabilities, and we will receive them in a timely manner," Cavo Dragone emphasized.
Is there drama in the relationship?
He also emphasized that, "from a military standpoint," there are no "dramatic situations" in relations between NATO and the United States.
Commenting on recent incidents involving Russian drones that violated the airspace of NATO countries, Cavo Dragone urged people not to react to such incidents with "excessive" emotion.
Cavo Dragone's remarks came after U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hagset spoke at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
What happened before?
- As reported, Hegseth criticized Europe and praised the United States' allies in Asia.
- Earlier, Donald Trump announced his intention to reduce the U.S. military presence in Germany, noting that the actual scale of the changes could be greater than the previously announced figures.
- The Pentagon has confirmed plans to withdraw approximately 5,000 troops over the course of the year. At the same time, the U.S. president has hinted at a further review of the global deployment of U.S. troops in Europe.
