If Trump wins the US presidential election, the EU is considering developing a NATO substitute,
according to The Washington Post.
"These conversations began after Trump’s words about encouraging attacks on alliance countries if they do not fulfill their financial obligations."
Sen. J.D. Vance (R), a US senator from Ohio, made the suggestion at the Munich Security Conference that the upcoming US government could collaborate with Russian President Vladimir Putin and withdraw from Europe.
With the biggest land conflict in Europe since World conflict II raging, Trump's remarks about NATO and his flirtations with Russia now seem more like an invitation to invade than a warning. Europe is furious and alarmed, but they are unsure of what to do next.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss delicate conversations between allies, one European security official said, "We have to rethink what U.S. commitment towards Europe and Ukraine could look like when the former and possibly future leader of the free world says that he would sit back and see how Russia would attack NATO allies."
Following Trump's statements, European officials have been in private talks about developing a continental supplement to NATO that would operate in tandem with US security guarantees but could also be a reliable stand-in should the US withhold its commitments.
Currently, the discussions are entangled in well-known disagreements. Germany and France cannot agree on who would pay for it. The resolve of Western Europe to counter Russian threats is not entirely trusted by Eastern Europe. Furthermore, it's unclear how they would construct a nuclear shield across the continent; even if they succeeded, their arsenal would be significantly smaller than Russia's in the worst-case scenario of nuclear conflict.
No comments:
Post a Comment