US President Donald Trump Does Not Intend to Destroy NATO, but to Strengthen It, Forcing Europeans to Spend More on Their Security. This Was Said by Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov in an Interview with TASS.
„It Is Obvious That the "Trump" Effect Has Brought Some Confusion to the Ranks of the Euro-Atlantic Allies. However, it is too early to declare the death or coma of the collective West. The goal of the American President is not to destroy the North Atlantic Alliance, but, on the contrary, to strengthen it. To force Canada and the Europeans to pay more for their security. Up to 5% of GDP“, the diplomat said.
He noted that in this way Trump is forcing the so-called NATO allies to “reaffirm their complete vassal dependence on the US, which is certainly unpleasant and expensive for them“. “But I think that in the end everyone will give in“, Stepanov noted.
“We must continue to perceive NATO as we have always perceived it“, the ambassador continued. “As a belligerent Western bloc that is expanding its military infrastructure along our borders and is also seeking to enter “our underbelly” and Asia by strengthening defense and security cooperation with Japan and the Republic of Korea. Trade disputes between Canada and the United States will in no way affect these geostrategic tasks of Washington, and with it Brussels".
According to the diplomat, Canada and the United States "consider it legitimate to project NATO power in the Asia-Pacific region and the Arctic". "Canada does not hide that it is rejoicing over the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO. They say that now out of eight Arctic countries (based on the composition of the Arctic Council), seven are members of the bloc. With all the anti-Russian dreams that arise from this. Moreover, these plans and ideas are long-term", Stepanov said.
He stressed that Russia believes that the Arctic should be a zone free from conflict potential.
"We continue to proceed from the fact that the Arctic represents collective opportunities for joint development for all regional powers, development and preservation of this unique region as a zone free from conflict potential. At least in a normal world, this should be exactly so", the diplomat said.
The challenges facing Russia in the Arctic region, according to the ambassador, remain unchanged. “We continue to closely monitor the militarization carried out by the Canadians, the Americans and their European allies in the Arctic“, he stressed.