If the US president will implement his threat to withdraw, Russia would become the only nuclear superpower in Europe, and the North Atlantic alliance would likely be fatally weakened, writes The Times in an analysis.
Before invading the whole of Ukraine in 2022, President Putin demanded the withdrawal of NATO forces from member states that were once part of the Kremlin’s sphere of influence. Such a move would have left countries like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland more vulnerable to a Russian attack. NATO itself would have also been weakened, perhaps fatally. It is no wonder that the military alliance rejected Putin’s ultimatum.
Four years later, President Trump gave Putin hope that his requests could be fulfilled, at least partially. Furious that NATO members in Europe would not support the US attack on Iran, Trump declared on Wednesday that he is “absolutely” considering withdrawing from the alliance.
He has made such threats in the past, but this one came in the context of the biggest rift between Washington and its European allies since the founding of NATO in 1949 to ensure collective security against the Soviet Union.
Although an American withdrawal might not give Putin everything he desired, it would weaken NATO’s power at a time when European officials are warning of an imminent armed conflict with Russia. In the worst-case scenario, it could trigger its disintegration.
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