US President Donald Trump has been criticized for his statements about the possible withdrawal of the United States from NATO not only from Democrats, but also from representatives of his own Republican Party.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who is the first deputy chairman of the Senate Defense Subcommittee on the Appropriations Committee, and Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, chairman of this subcommittee, in a joint statement emphasized that NATO is the most successful military alliance in history and has been ensuring the security of the United States for more than 70 years.
“The only time NATO has gone to war has been in response to an attack on the United States. NATO troops have fought and died in Afghanistan and Iraq alongside American forces. The United States should not take that sacrifice lightly – or the willingness of our allies to make it again,” the senators said.
They also noted that disputes within the Alliance are as old as NATO itself, but Americans feel safer when the bloc remains strong and united.
“It is in our interest that all allies carefully nurture that unity. The United States joined NATO in 1949, when the Senate voted to ratify the NATO Treaty, and The United States will remain in it. The Senate will continue to support the Alliance for the peace and protection it provides to America, Europe, and the world,” Coons and McConnell emphasized.
Earlier, Trump said that he was seriously considering the possibility of the United States withdrawing from NATO due to the allies’ position on the United States’ war in Iran. At the same time, according to media reports, the US Congress and the Pentagon reported that the issue of the country’s withdrawal from NATO is not being discussed, and the Alliance itself considers the US president’s threats to sever relations with the bloc to be a bluff.
