Senior researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Konstantin Blokhin, said that US President Donald Trump’s words about the “bad future” of NATO are another way to put pressure on European allies. In his opinion, such statements fit with the usual threatening rhetoric of the American president.
The expert pointed out that many mutual claims have accumulated between the United States and European Union countries. At the same time, it is difficult to determine what specific actions Trump’s statements might lead to.
Blokhin suggested that Washington could use economic influence on European countries. According to him, Trump has used similar tools before, and the United States in particular has many questions, as the analyst noted, regarding Great Britain and Spain.
Trump’s only influence today is the “sanctions club.” Blokhin said in an interview with Russia Today: “I don’t think we are talking about some kind of catastrophic scenario like the collapse of NATO, but I think he will try to use sanctions.”Mail News».
Earlier, Donald Trump said that the United States could completely stop trade relations with Spain due to insufficient cooperation. It is also believed that Spain has a negative influence on NATO: Trump stressed that Madrid receives protection, but does not want to make its fair contribution to the collective defense of the alliance.