The U.S. will reassess its relationship with NATO after the war in Iran: Rubio made a statement
31 March 17:15
After the war in Iran, the U.S. will reassess its relationship with the North Atlantic Alliance.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made this statement in an interview with Al Jazeera, the full recording of which the network released on Tuesday, March 31, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
NATO is useful to Washington because it allows for the deployment of troops and military equipment outside the United States. However, if the alliance boils down solely to the U.S. defending Europe in the event of an attack—while Washington is denied access to bases when it needs them—that is not a good deal, Rubio said.
According to him, NATO—as an alliance—should not be a “one-way street.” “Let’s hope we can work this out,” the dpa news agency quoted him as saying.
U.S. Secretary of State: Allies’ behavior regarding NATO is “very disappointing”
At the same time, the head of U.S. diplomacy called the behavior of NATO allies, including Spain, “very disappointing.” “In this context, it is difficult to remain engaged and say that this is beneficial to the United States. Therefore, all of this will have to be reviewed,” the U.S. Secretary of State emphasized.
Trump wants to strip several NATO countries of their voting rights
Earlier, on March 27, The Telegraph reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering stripping NATO members of their voting rights during decision-making if they fail to meet the spending target of 5% of GDP.
“Any country that does not allocate 5% should not have a vote when making decisions on future spending in NATO,” a source from the U.S. administration told the newspaper.
Sources close to the U.S. president reported that he is also considering the possibility of withdrawing U.S. troops from Germany. Trump has been contemplating this move since returning to the presidency in 2025, the publication noted.
Decision-making within the North Atlantic Alliance requires consensus. NATO allies are likely to block any changes to Trump’s proposal, leading to a new clash with him, the newspaper noted.
On March 26, the Pentagon informed the U.S. Congress that it plans to redirect approximately $750 million (€650 million) from a NATO-funded program to supply weapons to Kyiv to replenish its own arsenal.
