NATO not ready for conflict with russia without u.s. support - The Independent
Kyiv • UNN
Leaders of three frontline NATO countries have called on the alliance to increase defense spending. The countries are concerned about a possible decline in U.S. involvement in European security after the elections.
NATO is “not ready” to fight Vladimir Putin's Russia without the United States. The leaders of the alliance's three frontline states told The Independent, calling on allies to sharply increase defense spending, reports UNN.
Details
Following Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, the leaders of Latvia, Estonia and Finland called on the alliance to stop “endless debates” on how to deal with the looming Russian threat, saying it was time to strengthen Europe's defense capabilities.
“We are not ready. This is absolutely clear,” says Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics. “We can't just hope for a situation where the U.S. is still actively involved in European affairs.
“We must build up our defense capabilities,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal adds, ”because of the threat from russia and its inability to be a democracy and operate in a rules-based world.
These three countries are the only NATO members that border russia, the 1,200-mile border runs from the northern tip of Finland to the southeastern tip of Latvia, which also borders Belarus, a vassal state of dictator Putin that Moscow used as a springboard during its invasion of Ukraine.
The publication reminds that Finland, Estonia and Latvia are also among the NATO countries that spend the most on defense in relation to their gross domestic product (GDP).
Add
NATO requires its member states to spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense, but until this year only one-third of countries met that requirement. That figure has risen to two-thirds of NATO members, but experts still warn that spending is too low. Russia is projected to spend 6.3 percent of its GDP on defense by the first quarter of 2025.
