Former German Foreign Minister: I dare say I doubt whether NATO will survive

Former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer said he doubted “whether NATO will survive” given the erosion of trust in transatlantic relations. In a published interview with the weekly “Der Spiegel”, he also supported the creation of a coalition of countries threatened by Vladimir Putin's Russia.

In the interview, Fischer expressed satisfaction with the fact that he does not have to negotiate with US President Donald Trump, whom he considers a “deeply unsympathetic man.” He also praised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his decision not to join Germany with the US and Israel in the war against Iran.

From my point of view, Trump made a mistake already in his first term by throwing away the nuclear agreement with Iran negotiated by Barack Obama and the Europeans. So far, he has not achieved anything with this war – said Gerhard Schroeder, vice-chancellor and minister of foreign affairs in two cabinets (1998-2005).

Describing the state of transatlantic relations, Fischer said that “trust has been lost and will not be regained by changing the election result alone, although I would very much like it to be so.” “Who will guarantee that after four or eight years a new Donald Trump will not appear again?” – he added.

In the face of damaged trust in the US, the Green politician supported the creation of a “coalition of countries threatened by Vladimir Putin.” “We simply can no longer rely on the United States in the future. I daresay I doubt whether NATO will survive,” he said.

Fischer concluded that if Trump “withdraws the nuclear umbrella, and such a possibility exists,” the debate on a European nuclear alternative “will become inevitable.”

The conversation also touched upon relations with Russia and Putin. – I never trusted him. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, I saw how brutally the war in Chechnya was conducted since 1999. And also with what radical words did Putin react to the pro-European Orange Revolution in Ukraine? I've always had distrust, Fisher noted.

When asked why the government of the SPD and the Greens pursued a policy of rapprochement with Russia at the turn of the century, the former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied: “there was hope then that a compromise could be reached with Russia at the level of interests.”

From Berlin Mateusz Obremski (PAP)

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