“A one-way street”: Rubio said the U.S. will review its NATO membership
1 April 12:34
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned the value of NATO after European allies blocked access to their bases and airspace for strikes against Iran. He called the alliance a “one-way street” for Washington. According to "Komersant Ukrainian", Rubio made these remarks on Fox News, and the transcript was released by the U.S. State Department.
Rubio noted that he had been “one of the staunchest defenders” of NATO, but added that membership in the transatlantic alliance would be “reconsidered” after a war with Iran.
“If we have reached the point where the NATO alliance means that we cannot use these bases—that, in essence, we can no longer use these bases to protect American interests—then NATO is a one-way street,” he noted.
Rubio stated that NATO involves the deployment of American troops in the EU to defend Europe, but when it comes to European countries allowing the U.S. to use their military bases, Washington is refused.
Reviewing NATO Membership
“Then why are we in NATO? You have to ask this question: why do we need billions and billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars, trillions of dollars over the years, and all these American troops stationed in the region, when in a moment of crisis we are not allowed to use these bases,” the U.S. Secretary of State said.
Rubio emphasized that the U.S. will have to reconsider its NATO membership, but the decision on this must be made by President Donald Trump.
“So, I think there is no doubt, unfortunately, that after this conflict ends, we will have to review these relations. We will have to review the value of NATO and this Alliance for our country. Ultimately, this decision must be made by the president, and he must make it,” he said.
Relations between the U.S. and other NATO countries
As a reminder, Donald Trump is considering a radical reorganization of NATO based on a “pay-to-play” model. One idea is that countries spending less than 5% of their GDP on collective defense would not be able to vote on joint missions, the expansion of the bloc, or budget expenditures. Additionally, such allies could be left without U.S. protection in the event of an attack.
Furthermore, Trump emphasized that “NATO has failed the test” because Alliance members refused to participate in the U.S. operation against Iran.
