Political analyst doubts NATO's relevance in case of possible US withdrawal

In the event of a possible U.S. withdrawal from NATO, the alliance will probably lose its relevance. Political scientist, political technologist and publicist Natalia Eliseeva told Izvestia on February 21.

The previous day, February 20, the American newspaper The Hill reported that at the moment there is a high probability that the U.S. may withdraw from NATO. One of the reasons for such a move could be the lack of investment in defense by the European Union (EU), which at the same time hopes for the same amount of American security guarantees, the material said.

"Europe will have to defend itself by itself. Europe is provided for itself. The question is, will the alliance be relevant without US membership? In fact, it is unlikely. <...> At the expense of this will completely spoil the relationship between the United States and the European Union," she said.

At the same time, Eliseeva emphasized that leaving NATO would be a rather drastic step for Washington. In her opinion, this will not happen soon. She emphasized that changes and reconfiguration of the North Atlantic Alliance should definitely be expected for now.

"It will not happen anytime soon. In any case, a lot of things are tied to NATO, many operations have been carried out, including American ones, with the help of the alliance. Therefore, I would not talk about such a drastic step. The fact that there will be pressure and changes - yes," Eliseeva said.

According to her, assuming that Washington leaves the alliance, Europe will definitely have no choice - it will have to strengthen its army. She recalled that French President Emmanuel Macron, who called for improvement of the EU defense, faced criticism from the unification partners, who did not benefit from it, as well as unrest in the country.

At the same time, Europe realizes that sooner or later a strong army will be necessary, as there will no longer be security guarantees from the United States, Eliseeva concluded.

Helpless Europe and Zelensky is out of business. What the media say

On February 20, Politico learned of European politicians' fears that the transatlantic alliance may be coming to an end. On February 19, the Financial Times reported that without Washington's support, the EU countries are unable to conduct any military operation. NBC also reported that the US may reduce its military presence in Europe because of priorities in the Asia-Pacific region and the situation on the border with Mexico.

Prior to that, on January 24, Trump said he was not sure whether to continue sponsoring NATO, as Washington defends the alliance members and in return does not receive help. He noted that he would seek to ensure that the states of the North Atlantic Alliance increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.