Trump also added that many NATO members were not paying their fair share for US protection.
“A lot of these countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States," the president told The Times of London. "With that being said, NATO is very important to me. There are five countries that are paying what they’re supposed to. Five. It’s not much."
Commenting on the remarks of the newly sworn-in president, Russian political analyst and professor at the Academy of Social Management Anatoly Petrenko suggested that Trump wants to set up a new system of management and decision making in the North Atlantic alliance.
"NATO is a kind of a deal and Trump understands that if it was made, then all the parties should contribute and if they do not, they should leave it," he told Radio Sputnik.
With all the above in mind, Petrenko said, Trump won't abandon the alliance, but might reconsider the system of management and decision making within the block.
The US has always been a dominating power within the block, its voice has always been decisive and thus it might opt for a direct control over it. The US is also the main contributor to the block, he said, and its contingents are located all over the world.
The political analyst also did not rule out that a new structure might be set up in NATO's place.
"It is possible, however not in the short term," he told Sputnik.
"It is a geopolitical problem and it can't be solved with one click. However Trump's message is that the system of European security should be reviewed and many Europeans agree with him. Nevertheless it still remains to be seen how to reform it," the political analyst finally stated.
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