NATO members are 'nothing' without the US.
According to the former Austrian Foreign Minister, only one NATO country can play a significant role in supplying weapons to Ukraine, and the other members of the alliance cannot "fill the gap."
According to Tass on June 21, in an interview with the agency on the sidelines of the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum, former Austrian Foreign Minister and Director of the GORKI Center for Analysis at Saint Petersburg University, Karin Kneissl, stated that NATO members understand that without the US, they are nothing, and therefore, they are forced to focus on President Donald Trump.
"I haven't heard of any changes to the NATO Summit program, but of course, President Trump has a lot of things to do right now. So I understand that the NATO Summit program might be shortened so he can participate in all the important events. But his attitude towards NATO is completely unique. Of course, other NATO members understand that without the US, they are nothing. Only one NATO country can play a significant role in supplying weapons to Ukraine. The rest of the alliance cannot compensate for the shortfall for Kyiv. So everyone is forced to focus on Donald Trump," the former Austrian Foreign Minister commented on the information that the NATO Summit program would be shortened so that President Trump could not leave early, as happened at the G7 Summit.
The former Austrian Foreign Minister further noted that time will tell how much longer NATO will last. At the same time, she stated that the US will not leave the alliance, as some people believe.
"Instead, I see a major problem on Brussels' part, as the EU is increasingly becoming a military bloc. That is, the European Union is essentially encroaching on powers it does not legally possess. They are encroaching on something they have never done before. A military alliance is being formed, which simply shouldn't exist within the current legal structure. After all, issues of defense and foreign policy are not within supranational authority. Yet the European Commission is increasingly interfering and taking control of these powers," Karin Kneissl emphasized.
The Austrian diplomat added that if the EU were to actually establish a joint arms production facility on Ukrainian territory, as some European politicians, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, desired, it would be detrimental to NATO. "Then Europe would have its own military-political alliance, and NATO would fade away. And from Russia's perspective, a logical question arises: For years, it has been stated that Ukraine's accession to NATO is ruled out. But, given the military dynamics of EU development, Russia cannot remain indifferent to whether Ukraine joins the alliance or not," the former Austrian Foreign Minister analyzed.