Trump Criticizes NATO and Hopes for ‘Good Deals’ With Russia
WASHINGTON — In comments that are likely to create fresh tensions with the United States’ closest European allies, President-elect Donald J. Trump described NATO as “obsolete” in an interview published on Sunday and said other European nations would probably follow Britain’s lead by leaving the European Union.
Mr. Trump has made similar comments before. But the fact that he made them in a joint interview with two European publications — The Times of London and Bild, a German newspaper — and did so days before assuming the presidency alarmed European diplomats.
“I took such heat when I said NATO was obsolete,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s obsolete because it wasn’t taking care of terror. I took a lot of heat for two days. And then they started saying, ‘Trump is right.’”
Mr. Trump also said that Britain’s decision to leave the European Union would “end up being a great thing” and predicted that other countries would follow. “People, countries want their own identity, and the U.K. wanted its own identity,” he said.
He criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany over her decision to welcome more than one million migrants.
“I think she made one very catastrophic mistake, and that was taking all of these illegals, you know, taking all of the people from wherever they come from,” he said. “And nobody even knows where they come from.”
On Russia, Mr. Trump said he hoped to strike a deal with PresidentVladimir V. Putin to reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles. He suggested that such an agreement could be part of a broader easing of tensions that would include lifting economic sanctions imposed after Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
“They have sanctions on Russia — let’s see if we can make some good deals with Russia,” he said. “For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that’s part of it. Russia’s hurting very badly right now because of sanctions, but I think something can happen that a lot of people are going to benefit.”
Mr. Trump was critical of Russia’s military intervention in Syria, including airstrikes in Aleppo that American officials say have hit hospitals and killed civilians, saying it had led to a “terrible humanitarian situation.”
Strikingly, however, Mr. Trump painted Ms. Merkel, the leader of a staunch American ally, and Mr. Putin, the president of a country who has often had adversarial relations with Washington, with the same brush. He described them as leaders he would trust at the beginning of his presidency, but noted that this could quickly change.
“Well, I start off trusting both — but let’s see how long that lasts,” he said. “It may not last long at all.”
During his hourlong interview with the European publications at Trump Tower in Manhattan, Mr. Trump sought to temper some of his criticism of NATO by noting that the alliance “is very important to me.” Still, his characterization of it as divorced from the fight against terrorism was challenged by NATO experts, who noted that the alliance had joined the United States in Afghanistan.
“After 9/11, NATO’s main vocation became fighting terrorism in Afghanistan,” said Alexander Vershbow, the former deputy secretary general of NATO. “It is now heavily engaged in training the militaries of many Middle Eastern countries to help them fight terrorism in their own backyard.”
Mr. Trump’s comments on NATO were also striking because his nominee for secretary of defense, James N. Mattis, a retired Marine general, described the alliance as essential for Americans’ security in testimony to Congress just three days ago.
Asked about Mr. Trump’s previous criticism of NATO, General Mattis said he had spoken with him about the value of the alliance.
“I have had discussions with him on this issue,” General Mattis said. “He has shown himself open, even to the point of asking more questions, going deeper into the issue.”
In the interview, Mr. Trump also expressed an eagerness to reach a fair trade deal with Britain “very quickly,” saying he planned to invite Prime Minister Theresa May to visit him right after he takes office.
Ms. May had reached out to Mr. Trump just after Christmas with a gift: a copy of an address Winston Churchill gave to the American people in 1941. In a letter, she told Mr. Trump that she hoped the sentiment of “unity” in the speech remained “just as true today as it has ever been.”
Others in Europe, however, were less hopeful. Two European officials, who asked not to be identified because they did not want to add strain to the United States’ relations with Europe, expressed frustration with Mr. Trump’s remarks.
The diplomats said they had heard him sound off during the campaign. But with the inauguration less than a week away, there is a growing realization in European capitals that Mr. Trump’s acerbic criticism of NATO and the European Union was not just an attempt to win votes.
P.C: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/15/world/europe/donald-trump-nato.html
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