Russia jubilates after Trump's threat to withdraw from NATO. The message posted by Vladimir Putin's man
The special envoy of the Russian president, Kirill Dmitriev, on X welcomed the US leader's attacks on the North Atlantic alliance.
“Goodbye, NATO,” the head of the Russian Investment Fund and Vladimir Putin's main negotiator in the relationship with the US wrote on the X platform.
The message was posted on Wednesday, along with a link to an article in the British newspaper Daily Mail, in which Donald Trump announced that he would criticize NATO harshly and that he was ready to withdraw the US from the North Atlantic alliance.
Trump ultimately did not address it in the speech, although he did urge allies to get involved in unblocking the Iranian-locked Strait of Hormuz.
But in previous statements, published on Wednesday, the president implied that he is close to a major break with NATO partners.
In an interview with the British newspaper Daily Telegraph, the US president criticized European allies and described the North Atlantic alliance as a “paper tiger”.
He said he was seriously considering withdrawing the United States from NATO after the allies refused to support US military action against Iran, according to an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
“Yes, I would say it (is) beyond any reconsideration,” Trump told the paper when asked if he would reconsider US membership in the alliance after the conflict.
“I was never impressed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows it, by the way,” he said.
The statements to the British newspaper were the strongest sign yet that the White House is considering pulling out of the alliance.
A potential intention by Trump to withdraw the US from NATO could require congressional approval, but any signal that Washington may not be willing to defend its allies in the event of a Russian attack risks seriously weakening the alliance, writes Reuters.
