U.S. President Donald Trump promised throughout the NATO summit in The Hague that Russia would by no means assault the alliance whereas he’s in workplace, the Washington Submit reported on June 26, citing three unnamed European officers.
Talking at a briefing in The Hague a day earlier, Trump, nevertheless, didn’t rule out that Russia has territorial ambitions past Ukraine.
"It's doable," he mentioned.
Nonetheless, the U.S. president instantly downplayed Moscow's menace and aggression towards Ukraine, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin was "misguided."
Overseas officers and EU diplomats have more and more known as for the preparation for a possible full-scale battle between NATO and Russia.
Trump's remarks got here days after President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned that Ukraine's intelligence has proof that Russia is making ready new navy operations in Europe and only a week after Putin declared "all of Ukraine is ours."
In the course of the summit, NATO Secretary Basic Mark Rutte known as on alliance members to be reasonable concerning the threats posed by Russia and China. Beforehand, he warned that Russia could possibly be able to launch an assault towards the alliance inside 5 years.
Amid rising threats from Russia, NATO member states have agreed to a brand new protection spending benchmark, committing to allocate 5% of their gross home product yearly to protection and security-related expenditures by 2035.
In early June, German intelligence chief Bruno Kahl mentioned Russia could attempt to take a look at NATO’s unity with provocations past Ukraine, as some Russian officers imagine that the alliance's collective protection precept not works.
The Kyiv IndependentChris York