© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Latvian International Minister Krisjanis Karins speaks at a rally in help of Ukraine at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm, Sweden, December 18, 2023. TT Information Company/Henrik Montgomery by way of REUTERS/File Photograph
By Andrew Grey
MUNICH (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s stark feedback on NATO present that Europeans ought to take extra duty for his or her safety, however they’ll nonetheless want the transatlantic navy alliance, Latvian International Minister Krisjanis Karins mentioned.
Trump sparked fierce criticism from high Western officers for saying that, as U.S. president, he had advised an unnamed chief he wouldn’t defend nations that failed to satisfy NATO defence spending targets, and would even encourage Russia to assault them.
Karins, a former prime minister of his Baltic nation who was born and raised within the U.S., mentioned in an interview with Reuters that Trump’s feedback final week had been “unexpectedly sharp”, however mirrored broader U.S. sentiment which Europe ought to heed.
“Many presidents have been saying for many years that in Europe, we – being a generally wealthy society – should invest more in our own defence,” Karins mentioned as he walked between occasions on the annual Munich Safety Convention on Friday.
“The U.S. over time, I think, will be less inclined to feel that they have to fully underwrite European security,” he mentioned.
Karins mentioned a part of Europe’s response needs to be to proceed to spend extra on defence – a pattern fuelled by Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014 and full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He identified that NATO this week estimated that 18 of its 31 members would meet the alliance goal of spending 2% of gross home product on defence in 2024, up from 11 in 2023.
“There is a group of us that are investing above the minimum and are planning to go to 3% and even more, given the circumstance that we’re in and the real threat of Russia,” mentioned Karins, whose nation shares a border with Russia.
Karins mentioned Europe would nonetheless want the constructions and coordination supplied by the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Group for its forces to function successfully collectively, as Europe was not a rustic with a single military.
“We have many armies with many different specifications of weapons systems,” he mentioned. “We will still need NATO to help coordinate us.”