Serious controversy has arisen in Europe over dependence on American weapons: details
фото: Генштаб
At the GLOBSEC forum in Prague, European politicians debated NATO’s continued reliance on American weapons amid mixed signals from the United States. The debate intensified after the Donald Trump administration’s decisions on the American military presence in Poland.
This is reported by Politico .
The discussion was prompted by the situation surrounding the deployment of US troops in Poland. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth canceled the planned deployment of 4,000 US troops, after which Donald Trump changed his position.
According to a US diplomatic cable obtained by journalists, the conflicting signals from Washington have caused “significant political and psychological shock” in Poland. Polish officials have called the messages from the US chaotic.
The Polish President’s State Secretary, Marcin Przydzic, stated that Poland is meeting the requirement for defense spending at 5% of GDP. Despite years of US support and the purchase of tens of billions of dollars in American weapons, Warsaw has not received stable guarantees of support.
Czech President Petr Pavel said the problem is not only the possible withdrawal of troops, but also the lack of coordination with NATO allies. According to him, the allies were previously warned about changes in the number of American forces, but the decision regarding Poland was made without appropriate information.
The forum also discussed arms procurement. Swedish Defense Minister Poul Jönsson spoke out against the introduction of “European preference” in EU defense procurement rules.
“Sometimes it could be weapons from the Europeans, sometimes from the Americans, or somewhere from Asia,” said Paul Jonsson.
Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Coi said that Bucharest supports the development of its own production and investment in the national economy, but seeks to maintain cooperation with the United States. According to her, Romania’s procurement plan includes the purchase of more than $2 billion in American equipment.
German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadeful said Berlin was working with partners to create a new defense capability for Europe, while acknowledging the US’s increasing focus on China and the Indo-Pacific region.
The issue of reconciling the interests of European countries with the need to preserve the role of the United States in the Alliance is expected to be one of the key topics of the NATO summit in Ankara in July.
The day before, the administration of US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from Germany amid escalating disputes between the US and its European allies. Poland and Germany have already stated the risks to NATO and the need to strengthen European defense.
Earlier, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaia Kallas, stated that the United States, China, and Russia have a difficult attitude towards the European Union because of its role as a single geopolitical player.
Recall that the administration of US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from Germany amid escalating disputes between the US and its European allies. Poland and Germany have already stated the risks to NATO and the need to strengthen European defense.
By the way, former US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg stated the possible need to create alternative military alliances to replace NATO . He also suggested the possibility of the US invoking Article 13 of the Alliance to prepare for withdrawal.
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