NATO deputy chief says US needs Europe to stand up to Russia and China

NATO’s deputy secretary-general told the Telegraph that the US needs its European allies to confront threats from Russia and China.

There are concerns that if Donald Trump wins November’s presidential election, he could end military aid to Ukraine or even withdraw Washington’s security protections from Europe altogether.

But Mircea Joana says that now more than ever, transatlantic alliances are needed as Western countries are locked in an era of “great power competition” with authoritarian states such as Russia and its allies China, North Korea and Iran. He said it has become important.

“I think America needs all its allies as much as Europe needs America,” he told the Telegraph.

“The strategic reality is that China is a formidable challenger, and Russia and China and all the other countries will work together to create a massive effort to disrupt American power.”

“Epic struggle”

He added: “These countries have a strong active interest in challenging the world order that was basically put in place after World War II.

“In this epic battle, America will not only need its own strength, but also all of its allies in the Alliance.”

Trump warned that he would let Russia do “whatever it wants” to NATO members that do not meet the alliance’s defense spending target of 2% of economic output.

He was widely criticized for undermining the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all members of the alliance.

“We worked with President Trump for four years in the White House, and it started out pretty rocky,” Geoana said of the period when Trump branded NATO “obsolete.”

But he said Trump was “pretty positive” about NATO in his last State of the Union address. He added that the race against Joe Biden was “too close to call.”

“I think strategic logic will prevail, and I’m confident that the United States will continue to be a major player as it has been for the past 75 years,” Geoana said.

The United States remains Ukraine’s largest donor of arms and aid, but some believe Europe is not doing enough to help Ukraine.