The USA and its NATO partners
The anxiety caused in Europe by the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States has started to fade away.
Bogdan Matei, 21.02.2017, 13:16
Initially perceived as suspiciously lenient to Moscow and excessively critical of Brussels, US President Donald Trump has assigned to his staff the mission to correct this public perception. Last week, the new US Defense Secretary, James Mattis met with his NATO counterparts in Brussels, warning that if it wants to resume its cooperation with the United States and NATO, Russia must abide by international norms. He made it clear, “we are not in a position right now to collaborate on the military level, but our political leaders will engage and try to find common ground”.
On the other hand, Mattis also warned that “the US could “moderate” its commitment to NATO if other member states fail to meet the requisite spending targets”. On Monday, also in Brussels, the new US Vice-President, Mike Pence said that the new administration in Washington pursued the preservation of Western values and supported the unity of Europe. It was the first visit that Mike Pence paid abroad and the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker has hailed this symbolic gesture.
The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk said that the meeting with the US Vice-President had been “truly needed”. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels, Mike Pence told the press that he spoke on behalf of president Trump. “Whatever our differences, our two continents share the same heritage, the same values and above all the same purpose, to promote peace and prosperity through freedom, democracy and the rule of law, and to those objectives we will remain committed.”
Mike Pence also reiterated the importance of trans-Atlantic trade and the US commitment to ongoing cooperation. A priority of both sides is fighting terrorism as well as the defense of the EU states’ territorial integrity — was the message reiterated by Pence after meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “In the wake of Russian efforts to redraw international efforts by force, we will support efforts in Poland and the Baltic states through NATO’s enhanced forward presence initiative” — Mike Pence said.
He warned again that the American people could lose patience with NATO members if they did not share the burden of defense, which was a viewpoint also shared by Stoltenberg. “Europeans cannot ask the US to commit to Europes defense if they are not willing to commit more themselves” — NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg said. He called again on all member states to honour their military spending pledges, in terms of achieving the 2% defense spending target. We recall that Jens Stoltenberg congratulated Romania for its effort to allot 2% of the country’s GDP to defense. (Translated by A.M. Palcu)
