Politicians in Germany, faced with the possibility of Donald Trump returning to the US presidency, have begun informal discussions about the prospects for NATO without the United States as its leader.
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The New York Times writes about this on the eve of the visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Washington (February 9).
Trump has repeatedly stated that the United States is investing too much effort and resources in the North Atlantic Alliance and even threatened his country’s withdrawal from NATO. German politicians fear that if elected to a new presidential term, Trump will try to carry out this threat.
Currently, notes The New York Times, Germany ranks second after the United States in terms of assistance to Ukraine. In a situation where the United States has been unable to approve a budget that includes military assistance to Ukraine since the end of 2023, Germany has almost doubled spending on this item to $8.5 billion. in year.
The publication sees in this discussion signs of an “impressive turn of thinking,” noting that back in 2023, NATO was talking about new unity and new common goals against the backdrop of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The United States has played a leading role in NATO since the creation of the North Atlantic Alliance after the end of World War II. It is assumed that alliance members allocate at least 2% of GDP per year to defense.
However, many countries spend less for various reasons. The United States, in turn, provides about 70% of NATO expenditures, while formally all countries included in the alliance have equal voting rights.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.