The political scientist called Rubio's statements about the revision of the value of NATO blackmail

Statements by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about a possible US withdrawal from NATO rather serve as a maneuver to put pressure on allies to strengthen American positions in the alliance and on the world stage. This was stated to Izvestia on April 2 by political analyst Alexander Asafov.

According to the expert, Rubio's recent statements regarding the possible withdrawal of the United States from NATO can be regarded as a maneuver to put pressure on alliance partners.

"Rubio's statement, I believe, is, of course, the creation of a new negotiating position in terms of pressure on NATO partners. And here, of course, in the position of such bargaining, to put it bluntly, blackmail, they are actually trying to threaten that the United States will withdraw from NATO, and, accordingly, NATO will end," the expert said.

As noted by Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, the question of a possible revision of the role of NATO, raised by Rubio, is not something new. The expert recalled that such a position of the United States had been voiced earlier. According to Denisov, the constant underfunding of NATO by European countries and the increasing pressure on their financial obligations are the main reason for such statements.

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"This is the consistent position of the United States that it is necessary to reduce its own costs of maintaining the North Atlantic Alliance and increase the costs of the Europeans," the expert said.

In addition, the expert expressed doubt that the NATO member states will be able to find new ways to preserve the unity of the alliance in the face of geopolitical uncertainty. He stressed that at the moment, the basis of NATO's unity is the confrontation with Russia, and as long as the special military operation continues, many countries of the alliance will support a common front, Denisov concluded.

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In his statement, Rubio said that the United States would reconsider the value of NATO amid the conflict with Iran. According to him, the United States should consider whether this alliance serves its purpose or has turned into a one-way street where America is in the position of Europe's defender. In addition, he stressed that the final decision on this issue remains with the American President Donald Trump.

On March 31, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (listed as a terrorist and extremist by Rosfinmonitoring) called on Trump to impose tough sanctions against Spain in response to the decision to close the airspace for aircraft involved in the operation against Iran. On the same day, the American leader said that the United States would remember the actions of France, which did not open the skies for planes flying to Israel with military supplies.

In addition, on April 2, the Austrian authorities refused to allow the United States to use its airspace for strikes against Iran.

The Politico newspaper reported on April 1 that voices are beginning to be heard in Europe, that NATO is paralyzed and is currently falling apart. Another interlocutor of the publication, a European diplomat— noted that the alliance is currently split and paralyzed.

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