French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly on Monday said Europe was concerned about the United States’ long-term commitment to NATO, and she implicitly criticized President Donald Trump’s approach toward the military alliance, Reuters reported.
Europe concerned about US’ long-term commitment to NATO
STEPANAKERT, MARCH 19, ARTSAKHPRESS: “The alliance should be unconditional; otherwise it is not an alliance. NATO’s solidarity clause is called Article 5, not article F-35,” Parly added, in a reference to the Lockheed-Martin F-35 jet fighter.
NATO treaty’s Article 5 is a provision that means an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all of them.
Parly also said that a push toward greater European autonomy should not be seen as a move against the US and should not lead to Washington being less engaged in the region.
In the past, Trump has called NATO obsolete. He has also pushed NATO allies to spend more on defense and told them that governments needed to raise spending to 2 percent of economic output, or the US would go its own way.
Trump had lashed out also at French President Emmanuel Macron in November, saying it was “very insulting” for him to suggest Europe should create its own army to protect itself.
Macron had said that Europe needed a real army to reduce reliance on the United States for defense.
