Stoltenberg highlights US role in NATO amid upcoming presidential elections
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (Photo: RBC-Ukraine, Vitalii Nosach)
The United States of America will remain a powerful ally in NATO regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a conversation with journalists in Washington.
In response to a question about how the results of the US presidential election would affect NATO, Stoltenberg said:
"I expect that, regardless of the outcome of the US elections, the US will remain a strong NATO ally for three reasons. One is that it is in the US security interest to have a strong NATO. NATO is good for Europe but also good for the United States. It makes the United States stronger and safer," Stoltenberg said, emphasizing that in the Alliance, the US has more than 30 allies, which neither Russia nor China have.
The second reason, according to Stoltenberg, is that NATO has strong support in the U.S., both among both political parties and the general population.
"Thirdly, the main criticism from former president Trump, and also from others against NATO, has actually not primarily been against NATO. It has been against NATO allies not spending enough on NATO. And this has really changed, just over last years we have seen a dramatic increase in the defense spending across Europe and Canada," Stoltenberg said.
Presidential elections in the USA
The United States will hold presidential elections in November this year. The main candidates are incumbent President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump.
In June, Biden and Trump participated in debates, which Biden lost. Despite this, he stated that he did not plan to withdraw from the election.
At the same time, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that if the US leaves NATO, the world will lose many countries that rely on America and the North Atlantic Alliance, particularly Poland and the Baltic countries.
