In Obama's Footsteps? Trump Names Russia Among Three Threats NATO Faces

© AP Photo / Susan WalshPresident Donald Trump attends the commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., Wednesday, May 17, 2017
President Donald Trump attends the commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., Wednesday, May 17, 2017 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
US President Donald Trump said at the NATO headquarters in Brussels that the NATO alliance must focus on the threats posed to Europe by terrorism, unchecked immigration and Russia.

Trump spoke alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of other NATO nations at the unveiling of memorials to the Berlin Wall and the alliance’s Article 5 collective defense principle.

"The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and on NATO’s eastern and southern borders," Trump stated.

He charged "thousands and thousands of people" were entering Europe and the United States unabated.

For the first time, Barack Obama used the comparison of Russia with terrorists and the Ebola virus in the September speech at the UN General Assembly - Sputnik International
World
Obama Compares Russia's Policy With Ebola Threat, Islamic State
Terrorism poses a common threat to the world and must be stopped in its tracks, Trump added.

Trump's statement reminded former US leader Barack Obama's statement when he listed Russia, together with Daesh terrorist group and other global problems such as Ebola, as the key threats to US national interests.

Interestingly, a year after Obama dubbed Russia a threat together with Daesh, Moscow started its so far more successful than that of the US-led coalition's aerial campaign against terrorists in Syria, which resulted in the liberation of Aleppo and Palmyra. Moreover, Russia has repeatedly sent humanitarian aid to Syrians in besieged regions, as well as field hospitals and demining squads to the war-torn country.

A boy carries a water container near a sign that used to belong to the Islamic State in al-Rai town, northern Aleppo countryside, Syria December 25, 2016 - Sputnik International
US Needs Russia in Its Anti-Daesh Fight, Envoy to UN Says
During his election campaign, Trump called for a US-Russia thaw in order to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, saying that he wants to "get along with Russia," however, after becoming the US president, his views on ties with Moscow seem to have changed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Moscow-Washington ties have reached a new low due to the new US administration's actions.

NATO has set a sustainable course for the alliance’s expansion by engaging Eastern European states since 2014, explaining the expansion as a response to Russia’s alleged meddling in the Ukrainian conflict. Moscow has repeatedly refuted such allegations, and regards NATO's encroachments as provocative. At the NATO July summit in Warsaw, it was decided that the military alliance would send multinational battalions to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland, at the request of these countries.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала