NATO сhief сrafts plan to keep Trump from leaving alliance
Photo: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (Getty Images)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wants to focus on defense industry deals to address a significant production shortfall in Europe and keep the US as an ally, according to Politico.
Rutte has a new plan to prevent Donald Trump from turning away from NATO: to promise new defense deals that are beneficial to the US.
According to three high-ranking NATO diplomats, the NATO Secretary General has in recent weeks led a campaign to significantly increase production and the volume of defense agreements, seeking to ensure the success of the July summit of alliance leaders in Ankara.
They say this is aimed at addressing a real shortfall in Europe, as well as creating an economic argument that resonates with Trump.
"I think it’s very good that Rutte is emphasizing this in Ankara so that we can have common standards, better operational compatibility, and produce more and cheaper," Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard tells the agency.
"We need to continue to trade and continue to produce weapons together, and the U.S. has some unique capabilities," she adds.
Rutte's plan is also "good news for the US," one diplomat notes.
But any effort to deeply involve the alliance in defense deals is likely to clash with the EU, which has unveiled legislative proposals and billions in loans to prioritize the development of the bloc’s own defense industry.
The focus on industry "makes full sense to distract from divisions elsewhere," says Gerlinde Niehus, a former long-time NATO official.
Donald Trump and his inner circle have repeatedly hinted at a possible U.S. withdrawal from NATO, as allies refused to assist Washington in an operation against Iran. Another reason is that not everyone in the Alliance is willing to spend 5% of GDP on defense each year, as the American leader has insisted.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling to a meeting of NATO ministers to convey Trump’s outrage over their behavior and discuss certain issues. However, as Rubio noted, some countries have, in some way, accommodated the United States in resolving the conflict in the Middle East.
